NEST
by coolbreeze88
Summary: A plucky wannabe human archeologist is troubled by a series of bizarre yet vivid dreams that compel him to set out on a quest for the ancient and mythical underground insect Kingdom of Hallownest. Little does he know that he will find out many things about himself along the way as he begins to discover an ancient conspiracy and his unintended role in it.
1. The Missing Piece

NEST

Chap 1: a missing piece

"So it is with full confidence that I can say that the North American tribes, in their creation myths, that the universe was governed by 4 fundamental laws, centuries before the general theory of relativity were even proposed."

The classroom was gripped by the lecture, not expecting the archeology class to amount to anything other than easy credits, the unorthodox yet intriguing testimony had them utterly captivated as the gasped, gossiped with each other, and voiced their disbelief.

"But how could they have had the knowledge of the 4 forces, that being electromagnetism, gravity, and strong and weak nuclear forces which create order out of the chaotic void that our universe has miraculously sprung from, but what source exactly has been the source of much controversy"

With that, I clicked next on the computer projection to reveal the next slide showing a detailed diagram displaying the surface and a tunnel leading underneath to an expanse of caverns.

"As you can see their any many areas of our world skewed from view, lying under the surface, a great unknown for those unfamiliar with the caverns and even seasoned spelunkers"

Beginning to pace back and forth on the elevated platform, I pointed at individual students to emphasize my point.

"In fact there have been many reports, including those from esteemed naval officers about the hidden world that lies beneath what can been seen on the surface, and the entrances to this hidden world are numerous and may shed new light on why certain areas are considered sacred gr…"

Unfortunately my lecture was interrupted by a stern authoritative voice.

"NOLAN! Are you using my class to present your fanciful theories while I wasn't looking?!"

The other voice was clearly enraged at my actions as, although I clearly had no express permission to use any of the classrooms equipment, my desire to share my findings was becoming almost unbearable.

"Proffesor Davis, I can explain" I said, frantically trying my very best to excuse myself, albeit in vain.

"This was the 2nd time this week I caught you hosting an unauthorized lecture; surely you know the process of becoming a full professor doesn't start until next year"

Davis chastised, his brow furrowed and clearly frustrated at his rather "passionate" presentation.

"No matter, you all seemed to have had your fun with this occult dribble, and to be honest; I was also quite amused by your… erm… unorthodox theories"

With that, the pretender took a step back in surprise, noticeable sweat beginning to appear on his face.

"How long were you standing outside the door?"

"Long enough to hear the gist of it and I must say, I find most of it a hard sell, if not outright insane"

Not wanting to cause any more trouble I merely bowed my head in shame.

"I understand sir"

"But enough about that, I have a REAL class to run with REAL facts, now fetch me a chai latte, and make sure it is VEGAN this time, last time I found out I was drinking one with real milk It almost gave me a heart attack" his self-assuredness bleeding from his every orifice.

"Yes sir" was all I could say as I nodded my head nervously in acknowledgement as I made my way out the door in the direction of the campus café.

I almost stumbled over a loose shoelace on the way out, the class letting out a collective chortle as the I, trying to maintain my composure in the face of all this embarrassment, bent down to tie his troublesome right shoe as continued out the door.

It's such a shame really, I thought, not many people have any respect for the merits of crypto-archeology, how there is a seed a truth hidden in every myth and how through deciphering the metaphors, find the source of every legends inspiration, the only think standing in the way of my deserved recognition was the troublesome burden of proof.

Almost slipping on the freshly waxed floored as stopped in front of the café as the try hard scholar grabbed the counter with both hands to keep my balance.

"1 chai latte with vegan creamer and foam please"

At this the female barista raised an eyebrow cheekily.

"Let me guess, for Proffesor Davis?!

"Oh well how could you have possibly guess." playful sarcasm painting my raspy voice as I still was trying to catch my breath from the sprint over

She merely let out a lighthearted she turned back to open a fresh bag of coffee beans and pour part of its contents into the grinder and turned it on with a loud, distinctive crunching whir as the seeds were pulverized into a fine powder.

In the meantime he sat down at the nearest table to, for a short while at least, to try and calm down and collect my thoughts.

Besides the familiar sounds and smells of the small college café, I was finally brought back to a certain mild tingling yet somewhat foaming sensation in a certain area between my heart and abdomen.

The strange sensation has come and gone for as long I could have formed words in my mouth, maybe ever earlier.

The post-graduate has told his closest relatives about it and how it seems to strangely ebb, flow under uncertain circumstances.

Most dismissed it however, writing it off as simple anxiety, but it wasn't exactly painful or crushing as what most would claim happens, but, at times I could feel a noticeable pressure.

I tried not to think too much about it; maybe I am merely am overthinking things as I sometimes do instead taking out my journal to review my notes.

It was a rather ad hoc record than a formal research journal, albeit I make my best effort to keep whatever theories come to mind as organized as possible, despite how scattered and disjointed they might seem at first, patterns have a tendency to emerge in the most unexpected areas.

I turned through countless pages of diagrams and thesis, trying to gleam whatever pattern I could find from my years of research into the countless mythologies, most of them as of yet remaining unresolved.

Certain connections began to emerge; however once I reached a dedicated section that was drawn out in bold letters "Civilizations of the Underground" the font of course being my attempt at a somewhat fancy font, albeit not too flowery.

The mere fact that even cultures separated by a vast ocean could put so much emphasis on a whole other world just lying beneath our feet; the Mayans claimed an underworld, the Buddhists, Shangri La.

Even the most esteemed of German scientists of the mid-20th century who later went on to spearhead the golden age American space program spoke enthusiastically of an underground world with strange creatures and fauna they simply referred to as "Agartha"

These reports were later corroborated by the consistent records of the German scientific and military expeditions of the 1940's, a German U-boat captain even so far as reporting to have surfaced for air in a vast underground lake, as blue and as pure as the sky above.

Most of these reports however were aptly dismissed by the mainstream scientific and journalistic communities at the time as tall tales and propaganda, but I know better that that.

Before I could get completely get lost in intriguing possibilities, I was snapped out of my daydream by the ringing of a bell as his swerved towards the sound as I carefully reorganized and stowed my belongings into my trusty brown satchel before making my way back to the counter to pick up the order.

"Chai latte!" she shouted letting me know that the brew was made and proceeded to take the drink and receipt in hand as I gave her a sizable tip.

With a quick wave proceeded to carefully walk back to class, careful not to spill the quite expensive specialty coffee.

When I reentered the lecture hall, the somewhat large door released a loud wooden grown of old age alerting every in room I have his oh so specific blend of coffee.

But not wanting to risk getting my apprenticeship annulled, I held my mouth as I gave it to him before quietly taking my seat at my desk of in the far corner of the room as I sat back in my cheap plastic chair with a small creak, resting my head on my right hand.

I let an exasperated sigh, finally being done with what has to be the most annoying part of this gig, but if im going to get my official ceritification, this Is what I will always put up with on a daily basis.

"The bean type is Java, you know I always ask for SUMATRA" he said glaring over at my desk, the class looking up for a moment from their computers to give another collective chortle.

Oh the joys of academia.

"No matter, this will do" giving his latte another sip before back down on his much nicer desk, giving his lips a superfluous smack.

"Okay, now where was I, oh yes!"

His lecture on the other hand was, and im putting this lightly, a bit dry and derivative.

I could outright tell he was simply was rehashing what you learn from a high school social studies textbook about the Egyptian pyramids and simply added flowery and complicated words to make it sound college level.

Nothing genuinely new is being brought to their attention, nothing owhich both intrigues and captivates, in fact I could catch a few dozing off out of sheer boredom and it's a shame he's not using his full potential as a PHD grad to actually teach the less talked about, the less understood.

Anyways, there was no sense in making a scene about it, in due time I'll get my certification and then I could finally show them how you really keep them interested.

Letting off a sigh, I focused on writing the transcript of his lecture down for performance review purposes, and I'll be lucky if I even get a brief mention in it.

The day was long and insufferably repetitive, Davis droning on and on about the things that aren't even worth the tuition they paid for, at least I can take comfort in the fact I am nothing like him as I opened the final door leading outside.

The air outside was rewardingly perfect, not to hot, not to cold, it was right in the middle as the sign shown bright being blocked intermittently by passing clouds, the wind rattling the leaves with the birdsong providing a natural symphony that soothed my troubled mind after a hard day's work indulging the ego of some hack.

Oh and it seems that weird foaming pressure has subsided, finally.

Well, about time to get into my plain looking minivan to head back to my cramped studio apartment, chomp on some ramen, and try to focus on the finer things in life.

That is until I felt a hand on my right shoulder.

"Ahh, so we meet at last!" the voice from said matter of factly.

Startled by the sudden touch, I turned around, putt my hands behind me on the car door to stop me from falling backwards.

"Wh.. whoa… what the heck" I snapped back.

"If its money you want man, sorry I'm broke!"

The man was dressed up quite well and appeared to be in his 40's which is odd sense he didn't seem to show any signs of age.

Besides his luck with genetics, he had somewhat long hair and a bit of a tan with a navy blue blazer and leggings, complimented by a dark maroon vest and tie.

His hair had a singular braid in it tailored with bright red beads, a bit peculiar, but not unheard off, in fact it's quite modest compared to the outrageous braids I've seen the stoners on campus wear.

He merely offered me a look of bewilderment before letting off a small chuckle.

"Well you're an observant one, that's for sure, that's a good trait to have, albeit it offers no permission to be paranoid"

His manner of speaking was a lot more formal than I was used to, but from what I could tell he wasn't trying to be pretentious, albeit It was a refreshing contrast to the lazy short hand social media slang I hear from the immature, shallow art students.

"Anyways, I am a personal associate of Professor Davis and I have heard the gossip surrounding your surprisingly insightful lectures"

Well word of mouth travels fast, so I wouldn't be surprised someone would come around to actually thank me for my countless late knights trying to link together the seemingly disjointed evidence into a passable thesis.

I was a bit flattered, in a weird way, to be complemented by a person I'd least expect Id find in a community college parking lot.

"Well not many take it seriously, but most don't know how it all ties together like I do"

The sharply dressed man merely let off another lighthearted chuckle at my enthusiasm.

"Let them deny it, it is a simple fact of human nature that they can't accept what they don't yet fully understand."

"…and I hope they will understand one day" I responded enthusiastically, my spirts lifted at the fact I was being taken seriously for once.

"Well" he said letting off another lighthearted chuckle, his upbeat attitude feeling like massive cinderblocks were almost melting off my shoulders.

"How would you feel if told you I can help you on your little quest of yours, because I found what you deep down were always looking for, and I know exactly how to find it"

His voice turning to a strained whisper near the end.

At that moment I got stars in my eyes, with not much else to lose, I could see no reason why he would need to lie about something as huge as this.

"Are you serious!?" I asked rhetorically.

He merely gave a short snicker.

"You are willing to do whatever it takes to discover worlds unknown even if the rest of world sees you as mad for doing so, and now my friend that determined spirit of yours is about to pay off, here it is, the missing piece the finish the puzzle"

Shortly after his short speech, he reached into of the inside pockets of his blazer and pulled out

His phone… and after quick tip tak of the tactile feedback of the phone, I heard the notification sound on my own device.

Reaching into my own pocket and opening my messages, I could see a somewhat large JPG file was sent.

Upon opening the file, I was stunned at what I saw.

The margins were decorated in a mysterious language that doesn't seem to match any known earth language.

The picture itself showed a quite accurate map of North America followed by a series of dashes and dots overlaying it with a series of arrows pointing towards a location somewhere in the wilderness of the great southwestern deserts.

"This is… exactly what I needed" I said under my breath, trying to keep my childish excitement in check in order to not make a scene.

He simply let another chuckle escape his lungs.

"Of course it still requires a bit of deciphering, but you always knew the door was there, I have merely just offered the key"

I looked back up to make eye contact, an accomplished smile painting my face from one side to the next.

"I…I don't know what to say other than…thank you"

"You are always welcome" he humbly replied as he leaned a bit forward before resuming his somewhat stiff upright stance.

"It was nice meeting you…erm"

"Nolan…Nolan Burton"

"Ahh yes… I'm terribly sorry for forgetting to ask for it… formalities can slip my mind at times"

"and as for yours?" I asked a bit bemused at this point.

He gave a short awkward pause and smile before giving his response.

"You can just call me… Tom… just Tom"

I nodded in acknowledgement, not sure why he doesn't want to share his last name with me.

"Well it was very nice meeting you too Tom, but I have to get back home and put the final piece to unlock that door.

"As did I" he said as lightheartedly as his introduction "But I also have other business to attend to, but I assure you our paths will cross again in due time"

And with that he just turned around in place and began walking away.

"I assure you, you will be quite surprised what you find" was the last he said to me before heading off to whatever he needed to do, a somewhat more sinister sounding chuckle escaping his mouth, but I guess I could be reading too deeply into it.

Upon getting back into my car and turning the keys into the ignition, I looked back to see that strange, but helpful person for one last time.

Where did he go? I saw him head off in that direction only a few seconds ago…

Shaking my head, I waved it off as I made my way back to my humble abode in a high rise complex downtown.

My apartment, was to be honest, a quite drab and lonely place, I really do wish I could have a cat or small dog to keep me company but, unfortunately, our slum lord has a strict no pets policy.

So, just like another day, I as greeted to nothing but the distant whooshing sounds of traffic and the occasional horn sounding when someone gets cut off, thankfully it quiets down a lot right when I need to sleep, that is until an occasional sound of a gunshot catapults me out of bed in 3 in the morning.

Sitting down in my comfortable office chair, I booted up my computer and transferred over the file in my phone onto my PC before pinning the picture to the right side of the screen before opening up journal filled with my personal notes.

After initially deciphering the syntax patterns of the symbols, I compared it to the apparent binary code over to where the arrows were pointing and I letter at a time was made clear to me.

H

A

L

L

O

W

N

E

S

T

Hallownest?

Then there was the binary as it translated into two pairs of numbers separated by the occasional space.

Piecing together the fact they were coordinates, I entered the first pair as latitude and the second pair of digits and longitude.

Typing it into the search bar of a mapping program, showed patch of desert in the southwest, but unlike the surrounding desert in the satellite image, this apparent stretch was obscured with a quite sizable dust storm, using the history bar didn't help, as it seemed to have persisted regardless of what year I set it too.

If I'm going to see whatever is out there, I'm going to have to see it from the ground, from the looks of it; it was miles from the nearest town or road with high-mountains on all sides.

Saving the image and the coordinates, I went over to my closet and began to pack everything I needed for the trip in a large hiking back pack, double checking to make sure I wouldn't forget anything that may save my life.

This reminds me.

Making sure the magazine and chambers were empty and with loud snap of the charging handle back into its resting position as in gently placed it in its own specialized pocket along with a box of cartridges.

Lastly, after zipping I attached to one of the outside clips holds a special place in my heart,

It was a rather antiquated dreamcatcher my grandmother said was passed down through the generations of our family, long before Columbus even set foot in the new world, and now as she was in her final years, she made it prudent to pass it onto me.

How strange, that despite its age, it looked entirely pristine, how it managed to be so ageless escapes my understanding.

I remember my nightmares fondly, they were all the same and happened on a daily basis and remarkably vivid.

First it was black, I was floating, no other sound or being in sight other than the fact it was very cold,

and then the screaming started, screams of torment, agony, frustration...abandonment, there pale grey silhouettes smashing into a pile of their own kin with a loud CRUNCH.

Then after a short while, a dark, wraith like entity appeared in front of me, just staring at me with an unshakable gaze of 2 glowing bright white eyes.

Immobile and helpless, it grasps my body with its black tendrils, I try to cry, call for help, scream, and cry.

But nothing came out, not even the smallest of a whimper.

"Welcome home..."

Those 2 words, was all it said with an airy whisper before opening its maw to swallow me whole, only for me to wake up in my bed in a cold sweat, crying, that certain foaming pressure almost threating to explode out from me before slowly subsiding.

The day she gave me the heirloom, the nightmares stopped and never came back.

Feeling both comforted and reassured, I put on my backpack, tugging my luggage case behind me that contained my desert wardrobe and sand protective gear as I made my way back out.

Making sure all the lights and appliances were off, I waved my little hole in a wall a fair goodbye as I hope to not see it again for a long time.

The flight into Salt Lake City was rather uneventful, despite the slight layover.

If I had the money, I would have scheduled a charter flight to the area, but where is an overworked and underpaid intern such as myself am supposed to find that kind of money?

Being the closest I can fly, it will have to do; besides, I got a good deal on first class seats so no need to do after flight palates for leg cramps.

Then after getting a decent rental now came the hard part, the driving.

The freeway gave way to the 2 lane backroads before I was inevitably forced onto narrow and poorly maintained backroads of loose dirt and gravel.

Then I hit an expected snag, it seems no road leads directly into the area.

In fact, according to the map I'm still at least 20 MILES from where the anomaly could be seen from orbit.

So I guess this I were I'm going to have to walk, about 5 hours if I keep my best pace.

That's not too bad, although I might have to reconsider a day free of cramping.

Putting on a pair of goggles and boots with a brown scarf and a long-sleeved protective overcoat with my utility backpack on my person, I began the long walk to finally see just what that certain dust storm is hiding.

The trek across the vast expanse of desert was proving to be my limit, the hours rolled by as I kept a steady pace, the only sounds to be heard being the gusts of wind and the billowing of sand among the dunes as whatever smull grasslike vegetation that was left when I began my walk now gave way to nothing but rocks and sand.

Then there It was.

It was large swirling mass mass of dust that seemed to be small cloud over the horizon proved to smallow its entirety as I approached closer and closer to it.

Strange, it wasn't dissipating outwards like how most dust storm usually behave, instead the dust continued to blow sideways, possibly rotating in a 100 mile wide clockwise motion similar to that of a hurricane, almost seeming to be contained by some unknown force.

Well this is it.

Placing my goggles over my eyes and my scarf over my face with a small filter mask over my mouth, setting down a locating beacon right at the storms edge, I crossed the threshold into a whole new undiscovered frontier, hidden from view for longer than it should have.

To my surprise, the winds weren't that fierce, but the dust created a haze that obscured my vision to little more than a few hundred feet in all directions as the fine grains rested on the bottom crevasses of the polarized lenses, shaking my head at regular intervals to keep the sand from obstructing my field of view.

Stopping I looked down at my handheld console to see the homing beacon giving a steady signal pointed right behind me.

So far so good, I just have to keep a straight line and ill eventually reach its center.

Not faltering, I continued deeper into flowing fog of dust and sand.

I don't know how else to explain it, but almost when I was just about to give up and turn back and set up camp for the night, the dust began to subside and the air almost appeared to lighten.

The fog grew gradually thinner and thinner, albeit the wind maintained a moderate speed from, behind me?

For unexplained reason, the winds suddenly changed direction and I was now met with a push from the back, almost as if the storm itself was helping me along.

Then what came into view truly had me awestruck.

What appeared to be a simple rock in the distance could now be seen to be… a statue, but it was unlike any I have seen or studied about in any textbook, only mentioned in isolated legends and poems.

Making sure the wind didn't suddenly push me right into its visage I stood right in front of it, reaching my hand out to feel the engravings.

It showed remarkable handiwork, every edge and line being absolutely flawless and perfectly smooth, save for the fact of the large crack that ran down its middle as I looked up.

The statue had the appearance of what seemed to be some sort of beetle with the limbs stretching outward in a sign of welcome, the face covered by some sort of mask.

Then, looking past it, I was completely stunned at what laid before me.

It was a stone path, it has long sense appeared to have large parts of it covered up with sand, but a discernable trail of cobblestone was there nonetheless as I continued to walk forward down its length as the trail led towards an insurmountably high cliff, the formation stretch as high as 100 feet from where I stood.

It looked insurmountable, but luckily the trail snaked upwards on the cliff face.

There didn't seem to be any guard rails though, so I was going to have to be extra careful as I made my way upwards.

Strange, I could have sword I could have seen something zip by my peripheral vision, looking behind me, I was greeted by nothing other than the wind in my face and the footprints I left in the sand.

Hearing something seeming to land with a discernable thud, I looked back towards the trail ahead to be met with a being that caused me to lock up in shock.

It had what appeared to be some long, sharp, bladed weapon pointed at my throat, it wore what appeared to be some sort of red overcoat that flexed and waved with the wind and instead of a face, all I could see was a expressionless mask with two large pointing horns protruding upwards with eyeholes that seemed to be a constant pitch black, regardless of the environment.

My thoughts giving way to panic, I followed the very first instinct that came to mind and turned and ran.

It had to be the fastest I have ever run in my, for all intents and purposes, I really have seen enough.

But before I could get very far, my feet were tripped up by some mysterious thread that caused me to fall face first onto the cobblestone road, the thread receding just ask quickly as it appeared.

If it wasn't for my goggles taking the impact, I would have definitely had a good bruise on my forehead.

Getting back up onto one knee I was met with the same sight as before, the blade of whatever it is pointed at me as the creature looked down on me with a piercing gaze.

She shouted something at me in some bizarre language I couldent quite comprehend.

"What do you want… I don't understand"

Then pausing for a bit, the eyeholes of her mask seeming to flex into a confused look before speaking in a much more familiar language.

"Do you understand me now traveler?"

The voice was distinctly feminine and smooth, her English being spiced and accent that feel somewhere between dialect of Navajo and Latin.

I quickly nodded my head, still terrified at the fact that her weapon threatened to piece me at any moment.

"Good… strange… I haven't really thought I would ever meet anyone else who spoke that tongue, despite the fact that I was taught it was important for me to learn it."

The mere fact she knows how to speak English just raised a whole new series of questions, but what's important now is just what exactly she wants from me.

Then the eyes on her mask shaped into a look of concern as she looked passed me onto something on my pack.

"…..can it be…."

She then motioned her blade towards the charm that was hanging off the side of my pack, despite the dust, despite the wind, it inexplicably maintained its pristine condition, almost as if its protecting itself.

"You….you want to see it?" I asked nervously as she gave me a nod of approval as I slowly moved one of my hands over to the carabiner clip.

"Just be certain you make no other sudden movements and don't even think for a second I can't sense that you have a weapon on you, I can tell by your hesitation, any sudden movements will only welcome your swift end."

Wincing at the biting insight, did I make it that obvious, albeit she woul think of it as some sort of a blunt dagger with a strange handle.

"first your weapon!" she ordered as I quickly complied as I revealed to her the colt 1911 that was hugging my side as undid the holster and threw it at her feet.

I had to admit she was remarkably observant.

"Now if you don't mind" she said gesturing with her free left hand to hand over the charm.

Being as slow and careful as possible as i unclipped it and slowly handed it over to her as she held it gently by the top loop as she gave a similar expression I made to when I first layed my eyes on the statues.

That is, what was the closest she could make to a look of surprise, given her lack of any other features besides the chill inducing gaze of those two black eyes.

After a few seconds of eyeing the dreamcatcher, she finally spoke up.

"…this is a weaver's protective charm… but how did you… unless"

She shot me gaze, her "eyes" opened all the way In sheer bewilderment.

"Your strange mask…take it off.." she ordered with a slight worried tone, which was quite peculiar given her earlier stoic demeanor.

"Uhh sure… It's not much to look at but" I quipped before taking off my goggles and lowering my scarf to take off my filter mask.

Upoun seeing my scuffled visage, She instantly took a step back, and then another.

"you….you're…. no… …"

I stood up from where I crouched looking confused at the sight of having someone who moments before had me at their mercy now suddenly beginning to stagger back at the sight of my face.

Before I can ask what was troubling her so much…. She regained her previous stoic composure and raised her nail once more.

"You're coming with me … now!" she flatly ordered, almost yelling.

With no other choice, I trying to at least carefully put my goggles and facemask back into my backpack before slowly raising my hands above my head.

"I'll be holding onto this… strange weapon of yours until further notice… and lower your hands, I know by the fact of doing so you have no other weapons on you."

Her demeanor stayed cold and formal as she slowly walked back towards the cliff face.

"Follow me closely…for your own safety…"

I complied as we began our walk up the winding path up the cliffs, the outcropping almost seeming to howl with the wind.

I could only guess about where she could be taking me or what lie beyond the wastes below.

Did that strange man who gave me the missing piece know anything about this?


	2. Dirtmouth

Chap 2: Dirtmouth

I had to mind the unpredictable wind gusts that propped up intermittently, threatening to throw me hundreds of feet down to the desert floor below as we both made it up the narrow winding path to the top of the cliff face.

Based on her earlier comment about following her "…for my protection"

I would assume she would do whatever in her power to catch me should I fall,

But for some reason or another, I'm not much of a fan of trust falls.

There were occasional pests along the way,

I couldn't quite tell just what species the smaller creatures were,

but they seemed to be insect like as they all made attempts to gnaw at my cotton clothing, suggesting they were vegetarian.

If true, they don't really have that much opportunity for food,

Especially in extreme climates like this.

One could almost pity their desperation before the red clad stranger quickly skewered them with her blade, throwing their dead husks off the cliff with a flick of the arm, only to be snatched by the obviously more carnivorous flying creatures, which appeased them as they flew off into their dens.

Better them than me at least.

When we made it to the top, I was by the addition of strange lamps, lining the narrow road on both sides, the soft white glow of them seeming to oscillate in brightness in an organic manner.

Upon looking at the source as I was doubtful it could have been electricity, I looked closely at one at one only to see a small swarm of small fireflies that flew in circles around the glass sphere.

I remember when I was a kid, id sometimes liked to go outside at night in the backyard and catch whatever fireflies I could and put them into a small glass and use almost like a makeshift toy lantern.

But the dim yellowish glow was nothing compared to the sheer brightness this strange sub-species emitted.

It's almost as if they are using direct electrical incandescence rather than chemicals, but how?

I had little time to think as she gestured me to keep following as we made our way to what appeared to be a large circular shaft.

By my best guess, it was 100 feet in diameter in all directions and was nearly a perfect circle all the way around.

I followed my first impulse and lit a flare stick, her "eyes" bolted open in expected surprise, uttering a comment in her language in what I could best guess meant "incredible", as I dropped it into the pit.

Then I started counting in my head.

1…

2…

3…

4…

Just as I was beginning to think I would lose sight of the flare the small dot of light landed in the floor below,

If from what I could learn from the spelunking lecture from my geology class, it was 200 meters straight down or 650 feet STRAIGHT DOWN.

That's half the height of the entire Empire State Building!

I could only whistle at that fact, trying not to imagine what accidentally falling in would be like.

Just how a shaft that big could have been dug and how it could have possibly have been done was just heart stopping.

Before I could think of their possibly being some other way around, I was conveniently pointed by the red cloaked figure to a set of stairs that spiraled downwards hugging the shaft.

At this I gave a sigh and small chuckle of relief before we made our way down into the great dark maw.

As the natural light from above began to dissipate from our decent below, I reached back into my pack to get out my electric lantern, turning it on with the flick of a switch as she winced at the unexpected bright light, instinctively covering her eyes until they could adjust.

"How are you doing that!?"

"Doing what?" I mused half-jokingly.

"That light is not natural lumafly light!" she complained as we continued our walk down the dark shaft.

"Oh this" I gestured towards the device.

"It's powered by electricity."

She tilted her head, a tad confused.

"You know the lightning that happens in the sky during a fierce storm."

She nodded.

"Well we learned to basically put it in a container like this."

A short pause filled the air as she processed what I said.

"You never cease to provide me with further questions acolyte."

I only could shake my head with a self-satisfied grin.

Wait, acolyte?

"There will be more time for talk once we reach the safety of the village beyond the kings pass, until then, I need to focus on potential threats, so please for both our sakes, no more surprises!"

"Agreed"

After what seemed like forever navigating the eroded steps, we finally made it to the cavern floor, the moonlight shining down from above as it reached its zenith in the sky.

Is it really that late already, last time I checked my watch it was only 7:30 pm… how is it night already?

I must have by mistake over calibrated my watch to some earlier time zone, either that or I must have spent longer out in the wastes then I felt.

I don't know if my eyes are just being over-dilated from the lack of sleep, but I could almost notice something else about her ivory white horned mask.

It almost seemed to give off a subtle fluorescence in the moonlight, not too apparent, but just enough to be noticed.

Not wanting to pass up this amazing opportunity for presentable evidence, I slipped my Polaroid camera out of my bag and captured that moment for posterity, enshrining the fact she wasn't just in my imagination, quickly catching the photograph and sliding it into my photo binder and put the camera back before she could notice.

No one can say I used Photoshop when I use analogue technology and for that, I thank my grandpa for giving it to me.

PHD, Nobel Prize and Ivy League contract, here I come.

The soft glow subsided once we continued down the dark cavernous passage below, my enthusiasm taking hold as I volunteered to light the way, despite her hinting she can see just fine in the dark.

Becoming increasingly impatient, I picked up the pace, apprehensive about seeing more that lied beyond.

Then my foot slipped as my heart seemed to seize up in panic as I fell off the narrow pathway, my lantern revealing the pit of razor sharp spikes that lie below.

I braced for the inevitable, only to be grasped by one of her hands pulling me back to safety, her grip as firm as a vice.

She did so with not the slightest hint of resistance or effort, as if I was to her no heavier than a flimsy piece of Styrofoam, and that… scared me a bit…

I had to gesture at her to let me catch my breath at that near death experience.

While in my shaken state, she placed her free hand on my shoulder.

"Experience is often the best teacher."

I nodded in full agreement.

"Hopefully you learn to at least see before moving from now on, I won't be hesitant to carry you the rest of the way there if you continue to have the judgement of a child."

Not wanting to have a petty argument with someone who just saved my life, I merely swallowed whatever anger I had at that final comment and focused on my mission at hand.

Learning my lesson from earlier like she predicted, I put more thought into each step as we continued our trek through the perilous cave.

That is until the light of my lantern touched the face of something that made me pause for thought.

"What's this?" I asked rhetorically to myself as she stopped to face be I was looking.

It was what appeared to be a large egg shaped stone slab that towered above me, making it near impossible to ignore.

I found it strange that the light began to reach farther than what my lamp could muster and on a hunch I switched it off, only to see that the strange glyphs were glowing on their own accord.

Before I could wonder just what exactly it was trying to convey, as if on cue, a message echoed through my mind as a discernable echoing whisper, bypassing all language and appealing directly to my thoughts.

 _Higher beings, these words are for you alone._

 _Within our lands do not hide your true form. Let all bask in your majesty, for only this kingdom could produce ones such as you._

After the message was stamped into my mind, I jolted back at the shock of the experience as she merely looked over in my direction not showing as much concern as I expected, instead giving her best attempt at an inquisitive glance.

"You…could understand it..?"

"What?!"

She stepped a bit closer, assuming I didn't hear her the first time.

"Those strange symbols… not even qurriel with all his knowledge decipher those tablets… what did it say to you?"

I held my head, my mind still tender from the intrusion of foreign thought.

"It said these words are for the higher beings alone… that I shouldn't hide my face, that I have nothing to fear.."

"…that could only mean one thing acolyte.."

"That the message was made for my kind.. How can this be… how did whoever write this be able to know who we are, unless"

My eyes open as wide as they could be in utter shock.

"We were here before…"

A pause filled the air; the dripping of stalactites was all that could be heard for those few tense seconds.

"…and so it is true…"

She trailed off, almost as if she was meaning to tell me something that I needed to know, but for one reason or another, she stopped herself, possibly unsure about the new information as set down my lantern to snap a quick picture before picking it back up to continue our trek through the cavern.

"We have to keep moving, the village shouldn't be too much farther"

I shook off the dizziness and we continued our walk. 

Oh and I think we forgot to introduce ourselves earlier, I'm Nolan, sorry if I didn't say anything earlier, I was kind of intimidated at first, could I get yours"

I reached my free hand out in a sign of welcome.

"Hornet" she said bluntly as she kept walking ahead, perhaps I was a bit naïve to think she knew anything about a handshake.

I wrote down whatever I could that the tablet imparted in me.

Then we ran into a second tablet and the same dizzying mental intrusion took place as it spoke directly with focused intent that mind could translate instantly.

 _Higher beings, these words are for you alone._

 _Your great strength marks you amongst us._

 _Focus your soul and you shall achieve feats of which others can only dream._

Focus my SOUL?

Unlike the first one that just contained a simple line of advice, this tablet spoke to something deeper within me, as if it petitioned to unlock a latent hidden potential, fueled by my will, just waiting to be released.

Then I felt a tingling sensation coursing up and down my entire body, Hornet looked in utter surprise.

Well so much for no more surprises, my body was surrounded by a thin white watery aura that subsided as soon I stepped back from the tablet.

"What…. Was that?"

"SOUL. The life-force that flows through all living things."

Her answer was simple and concise, almost as she was being asked what air was.

I may have come here for the discovery of civilization lost to time, but the existence of this SOUL, that vast well of energy that dwells not just in me, but all life, could change the face of all fields of known science.

I held the lantern in my teeth as I frantically wrote whatever thoughts or feelings I felt in that moment of…peace, snapping another quick photo of the intricate carved patterns before continuing, the glow of the carvings being surprisingly discernable in the developed picture.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth, finally making our way back onto safe level ground as the passage widened to reveal the light of the outside at the far end, appearing in the shape of a large doorway.

I was relieved that our journey through this perilous pass has reached its end.

But not before I was met with the 3rd and final tablet as it made sure it had my attention before it could grace me with the privilege of what lied beyond that imposing doorway.

 _Higher beings, these words are for you alone_

 _Beyond this point you enter the land of King and Creator._

 _Step across this threshold and obey our laws._

 _Bear witness to the last and only civilization, the eternal Kingdom._

 _Hallownest._

At that moment, my spirit was raised as my hunch was confirmed; this was the place I have been looking for, those countless hours out in the desert proved to be worth it.

But there were a few things it planted in my mind that I had no choice but to disagree with.

It claiming to be the "last and only civilization" was either an outright lie or perhaps it merely assumed it was due to its isolation.

Second, whoever claimed to be King and creator was certainly a distortion, its common knowledge modern man originated from Ethiopia, and usually when any earthly ruler claims otherwise, that ruler was a despot.

The laws it talked about were also implanted in my mind, it was the usual laws that any archaic state would have had.

 _Don't murder._

 _Don't steal._

 _Don't commit adultery._

 _Don't disrespect the king or his vassals._

As well as certain laws that seemed a bit… bizarre.

 _No interspecies marriage._

 _No making dealings with the moths._

 _No making dealings with the dark ones._

 _Higher beings must wear protective armor at all times._

The last one had me a bit worried, was crime really so bad as to require armor, but why just for the "higher beings".

I was decidedly confused, but best to take notes so I can figure it out later as I turned to hornet and she understandably seemed a bit bemused as she only saw me stand right in front of the tablet perfectly still for a few minutes, but to me felt like an instant.

Leaving any more question for later, following the light, we finally made our way to the end of the cavern, being met with a breathtaking view of the basin below, surrounding on all sides by high peaks and cliffs.

In the center was supposedly the small town she was talking about, the settlement alight with pinpricks of soft white lights.

"You should consider yourself lucky for arriving at the time you did acolyte, Qurriel just recently had a lift installed based on the one found at the crystal peak, so we can make it safely to the floor below without risking harm".

"I apologize for no asking earlier, but who is Quirrel"?

At this a shred of levity pierced her stoic bubble at the question, almost as if reminding her of fond memories of a childhood friend as she hit the lever activating the lift as the chain slowly hoisted up the main carriage.

"Oh, you will meet him soon enough, he is Hallownests chief scholar and engineer, he made it his mission to restore Hallownest from the ravages of the infection."

Infection? A plague so horrible to cause a kingdom to collapse is not unheard of, but still tragic all the same.

The elevator opened its doors as we stepped inside as she hit the lever above as we made our slow descent.

"Oh in that case, I would find it in my interest to meet him, because you see, I came here on a research mission, in fact it's REQUIRED for my graduation to provide a new discovery, and this is just the place that would exceed anyone's expectations."

"Ohhh, so you are an apprentice scholar then?"

"Indeed I am miss."

She looked over towards the village in thought.

"He was much like you before he took upon his old masters mantle, determined, optimistic, perhaps a bit naïve. "

She looked back at me.

"A partnership could be arranged and you are more than welcome here, it is warriors and lawless bandits that I refuse to allow causing any further strife to whatever remains."

"I'm sure no one has escaped your vigilant sight" I quipped half-heartedly.

"But alas I have been called to attend to other responsibilities" she said as the elevator made it to the bottom with a thud as we made out and towards the quaint village.

As we neared the town, more and more of details came into focus.

The houses were a motley mix of single story and sometimes 2 story domed structures, with the cobblestone streets crossing at odd angles.

As I got close enough to be recognized by the inhabitants, speechless at the fact they were of strange physical proportions, all of them bearing a white mask of their own, at least, I think there wearing masks.

"Ohhh why hello again Hornet, nice to see you back safe and sound from your travels and who's this, someone n…?"

The man sounded grizzled and tired, most likely lived in this village his whole life and has perhaps had the experience that came with being an apparent elder.

Upon closer examination, he really wasn't human, a discernable exoskeleton of interlocking plates sliding over each other like a natural suit of armor, his cloak probably only being there for aesthetic appearance of an important elder than for any real practical benefit.

He looked at me with a mixed expression of worry and concern as he scanned my visage.

"My word, were the old fairy tales really true after all? Please, take a seat; I can see that you are tired from that long perilous trek."

Not really sure what he was saying, it was the same Navajo sounding language I was greeted with upon my rude acquaintance with Hornet, but I could tell he was gesturing for me to take a seat, surprised he didn't at all show any sign of apprehension or fear.

I really couldn't say the same for myself.

Hornet, upon saying a quick sentence to the elder in her language, he nodded at his apparent lack of foresight.

"Oh my apologies, I am so used to assuming that everyone who comes through here knows the common language, it's not often I have to actually try to…."

He hesitated, somewhat unsure if he was speaking it properly, sure he had a thick Native American accent, but that's excusable

"Good thing I remember how to speak a language that higher beings were, or are, known to use, I only studied how to speak it out of boredom, but I consider myself glad to be able to use it in an actual conversation, a bit surprised even!"

He smiled. His warm hospitality overcoming any fear I had of his strange species.

"Come sit, we have much to discuss, don't be afraid, I mean no harm."

Don't mind if I do, my back and legs really hurt, so I quickly settled down on the gothic styled be…

FAAAAAAART!

The elder bug was shocked at the sudden noise and hornet looked seriously offended.

"….Oh excuse you"

"It wasn't me I swear!"

Upon feeling something under my but, I reached in an pulled out from under me what appeared to be…

A whoopee cushion?

An exacerbated, almost manic laugh could be heard comic from the elder bug as an unnatural grin distorted his face, it crept me out beyond belief.

"IKTOMI?!" Hornet had little patience left as she instantly knew the culprit.

Also at the same time another bug of the exact same appearance poked the other over the shoulder as the other turned around to see him discernably annoyed.

"Oh…. Drat, you know you really need to get a sense of humor princess."

With a poof of white smoke, the elder bug was actually revealed a spider about the same size as me, albeit its face was covered by a lighthearted looking mask as it wore a cloak similar to hornets, albeit with multiple legs sprouting from under it.

"AHH!"

I braced myself against the bench the best I could at the creature that lay before me as it brushed off some dust with one of its appendages.

"What, were you expecting me to call in advance or something?!"

He leaned in close.

"You're not afraid of spiders, are you?!"

Immediately afterwards he began poking me all over with his legs, as I huddled in fetal position in a fruitless attempt to stop the onslaught, his laugher matching my screams.

"AHHH, GET EM OFF!

"Iktomi, I order you to stop terrorizing the acolyte this instant!"

At this, Iktomi grumbled and slumped away from my personal bubble. 

"I wasn't going to hurt him"

Panting, I had so many questions.

"What the hell are you!?"

At this his demeanor, upon hornet's requests, became more sober, albeit with a tingle of comedy remaining in his voice.

"Well then, obviously "what" I am should have been made plainly obvious, I'm a spider…duh…"

He placed one free leg on his mask as to give a clue to his expression underneath.

"As for who I am…we met before silly human."

He, in another puff of smoke, transformed into the very man that I met in the parking lot a few days ago.

"Y…YOU?!" I really had nothing else to say in my utter disbelief.

"yeeeeesss, the one and only." he said with a stage magicians bow.

"As you can see, I am quite the master of disguise and… hmhmhm… mischief, but I'm also so much more than that"

"You don't say"

"I am!"

In another puff of white smoke, he returned to his true form as he gave a dramatic pose.

"Iktomi! the master weaver!"

"Is there any reason that you would feel the need to return to deepest after your self-imposed exile?!"

Any melodrama was instantly deflated by Hornet.

"Again, my princess, I didn't exile myself, I left with my brethren because I didn't want to get infected by that orange stuff, in fact as soon as I got the news by one of my colleagues that the infection had been cleared that I felt it safe to return from our ancestral home of Paha Sapa."

My mind was alight with intrigue at Iktomi's explanation, the Black Hills are seen as sacred ground, and I think I found out one of the reasons why.

"I would have preferred if you never came back, you must have been out here for hours pranking all the travelers that came through while I was asleep, shameful." the elder bug had to get his 2 cents in as other bugs woken up by the commotion crowded around the scene.

"Anyways….. My home has become quite, as you could say, over developed, and the mining is a tragedy."

"Mining?!"

"First they said they wouldn't, but then they did, humans, I have to admit, are quite a capricious lot."

"WHAT?!" hornet shouted, demanding an explanation.

I am going to have to answer a lot more questions than I thought it seems…

"Besides the fact that the ancestral home of the weavers was apparently desecrated, would you mind explaining why you 2 know each other"

"He gave me the directions to reach Hallownest" I interjected; the townsfolk gave a collective gasp.

Hornet looked over to the trickster weaver.

"Is this true?!"

"Indeed it is my princess, and what's this?" He said motioning over to the dream catcher held in her free hand along with my firearm.

I was hoping the safety was on as she was holding it in a way that pointed the barrel at random people.

I winced at the thought of a misfire.

"Those weave patterns, the enchantments, and the craftsmanship; oh I recognize that that isn't just any knockoff dollar store dreamcatcher, no, that right there is one I personally crafted."

"That dreamcatcher was YOURS?!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, so you assumed it was yours?! Hmhmhm Now then.. But anyways… yes, I guess it's now yours.."

He only was serving to bring to light even further questions, Iktomi seeming somewhat uncomfortable from all the peering eyes at this point.

"heheI will be back in the weavers den to attend to more personal business, any more question I'll be happy to answer when you meet me there and a tough crowd like this is no place to discuss my reasons, TA taaa" at that he jumped down the well as I ran over and looked down, instead of water, I felt a breeze in my face, denoting a large cavernous complex below.

I shook my head, this place has more layers to its mystery then what could be explained on a single page, how far down the tunnels went was beyond even my best guess.

Hornet was quick to follow right behind me as she nudged me to turn around.

"What was that all about" I said shaking my head.

"Like he said, he wants you to have it, although I'm still confused as to why a charm of the master weavers, creation ended up in such…. unexpected hands"

Without hesitation, I took **my** prized dreamcatcher out of her hand, she immediately retracted it though when I went to grab the pistol.

"I don't think that means I still trust you with this… strange weapon….not until I find out what it is.. how does it work exactly?!"

At this she proceeded to study the weapon, observing its complex mechanisms before…

"Oh no no no DON'T DO THAT!"

I had to motion her to point the gun towards the ground as she had the barrel pointed right at her face.

"If you would have pulled the trigger, it would have been bad"

She tilted her head, still mostly confused at how the device could kill with no real cutting surface or why it needed a hole at the one end of it, but she knew for sure it had to be a dangerous weapon given how I gave it up to her.

"Is there a problem hornet?" spoke another voice nearby in their native language, only getting the gist of it from the tone and context.

"Ahh, scholar Quirrel, how nice of you to be back from your studies in the archives, as you might have already seen, I have brought someone here who was wandering the howling cliffs, he goes by the name No LAWN."

I winced a little at how she butchered my name as the other bug gave an ecstatic gasp upon getting a good look at my face as he held on of his clawed hands to his mouth in shock.

"If only Monomon herself could see the day… To finally meet a real human face to face, truly she would have been proud of me."

He then preceded to awkwardly cusp my face and feels my hair, making sure in his mind I wasn't a hallucination, my discomfort swelling.

"I remember when I was much younger of being read old legends about this race, so soft, so fragile, yet remarkably tenacious, brave, cunning, and dutiful servants, how Hallownest hasn't in thousands years seen one….until now…."

I proceeded to grab his hands in gesture for him to let go as he put his arms back down at his side, assumingly embarrassed given his heated enthusiasm upon having made a groundbreaking discovery of his own.

"I am terribly sorry about that, it's just that for a myth to be proven true is truly profound, you can understand me correct, as a scholar, I have made an effort to study the human languages and I am certain from your vowel consonants that this one you speak correct?"

"Yes, I can understand you perfectly!" I said, his accent was rather minimal which showed his scholarly attention he gave to language studies and his vocabulary was considerably advanced"

"Excellent! Now, if you so choose, could you follow me the first thing tomorrow to the archives, I would be honored if you would volunteer for an examination, nothing invasive I assure you and I probably won't get an opportunity like this again."

I scratched the back of my head at the fact the student has now become the subject.

"Well, actually, Hornet and I were discussing about a possible research partnership, you see like you, I'm also a well-educated scholar, albeit I'm not quite a professor yet, that's why I came here"

"OH now this is a positive development indeed, surely this makes my job considerably easier, because there are many mysteries to this lost kingdom and together I feel there would be no nook left unsearched."

It was the best case scenario I could have found myself in, one of the locals was also a trained scientist, based on what he said about an archive, he could share with me all sorts of stuff that were stored there for posterity, from architectural plans, to biology manuals.

Like him, this was an opportunity to good to pass up.

"What do you say No Lawn!?" he said with an outstretched hand, mispronouncing my name as Hornet told him.

"Actually it's pronounced Nolan, Nolan Burton"

I shook his weird 3 digit hand, his grasp expectedly firm, but thankfully it wasn't crushing"

"May we brave new frontiers together Qurriel" I smiled.

"Now that you two have come to an agreement, it is late, and rest is in order" Her aura of professional stoicism never ceasing for a second.

Almost as if on que I yawned.

"What was that?!" asked Quirrel.

"It was a yawn, us humans make that noise when were tired."

"Oh you are fascinating indeed"

Oh boy…

"Qurriel, I would like for you to see what weapon this is, it doesn't look anything like I have seen before" she handed my firearm over to Qurriel, who proceeded to study its complex mechanics thoroughly.

By the way he checked the safety; something tells me he wasn't a complete stranger to its operation.

"Oh my… this is a fire claw!"

"A fire claw?!" Hornet parroted.

"Indeed… why I haven't seen these sorts of weapons sense Xero's uprising"

He ejected the magazine and pulled the charging handle making sure it wasn't loaded, a lone bullet panging on the rocks as he picked it up.

"This small metal object may appear innocuous Princess, but upon a small needle impacting the explosive cap in the back of the cartridge, it creates a massive, yet focused, explosion, that hurls it through the air at an unbelievable speed"

His tone became more somber as he continued his lecture.

"It is a horrible, crude, uncivilized weapon, upon one of them hitting a bugs shell, the fragments lodge themselves deep within and eviscerate interior organs, leading to a slow agonizing death"

I couldn't say that what he said was untrue, although when properly used, you aim for the head, ensuring an instant death, but he does make a good point about their shells ADDING a whole host of other problems.

"According to what I could read of the historical records in the archives, after Xero's treasonous rebellion was subdued, the King declared these weapons forbidden and ordered every one of these infernal contraptions within the kingdoms borders confiscated and destroyed, along with all knowledge on how to make them, knowing such cruel weapons shouldn't be under the possession of anyo…"

"Or" I interjected, catching both off guard at my brash correction.

"Perhaps he feared that it gave the common man, or bug, too much power."

"The power to cause suffering that is! Compared to the elegant precision of a nail"

He motioned to the bladed weapon he had at his side, a peculiar weapon, I suppose their hard shelled hands made the need for a soft grip on the handle unnecessary.

"These weapons erratic and unpredictable." He said, shaking the pistol in a condescending manner.

"No… the power to shoot down a skilled swordsman with so much as only a few hours of training is empowering, if they felt a reason to rebel, chances are whomever was in charge was a total prick"

"Nonsense, if it wasn't for him we…"

At this hornet motioned we cease our arguing as Quirrel sighed in frustration.

"We can continue this debate tomorrow at the archives, for now, the lack of rest is starting to get to all of us"

"Agreed, but I still need to figure out where I can stay for the night… I do have a tent but…"

"An abode can be arranged here in Dirtmouth" Hornet offered.

"No payment will be necessary, just find an empty house until I can find you a more sensible residence"

"Well gee, thanks… so I just pick any empty house"

"Doesn't worry, despite the small influx of residents after the re-sealing, a fair number of the houses have been long sense abandoned; they should be fully furnished though."

"I think I saw one house that has my name on it" I said, if they gave the go ahead, I guess it's not exactly breaking and entering.

Upon looking back at Main Street, I could see that the crowd had long sense left to the safety of their own abodes.

"Oh and one more thing Nolan, don't mind the other townsfolk, they aren't as understanding as I am, but I am here to translate and I'm sure if you explain your reasons for being here they'll open up to you"

"I had to leave for another kingdom in a few days for complex matters, but the arrival of the acolyte brings its own complications.." She was perturbed at best, already seeming to have enough on her plate as is.

Not wanting to complain, I found the nearest empty house and settled in for the night, apprehensive to what tomorrow will bring.

Will they accept me, or am I just too alien to them.. If Qurriel's warmness is something to go off of, I feel I'll get along with them just fine.

Hornet definitely didn't feel comfortable giving my weapon back after Quirrels horror story, but I argued that they're commonplace were I'm from, so she, with a look of disgust, gave it back under the condition I keep it hidden away and never use it on any intelligent bug.

Other than my pending concealed carry case, why do they keep calling her princess, if so, of what?!


	3. The Archives

Chap 3: The Archives

The morning rays of the sun woke me up to a reminder of where I spent the night, at first I was confused before realizing everything that came the night before.

The journey here was so long and exhausting as to have made me pass out the moment I laid my body down on the dusty bed as its firmness never crossed my mind.

While Iktomi's… err my dreamcatcher helped kept the strange nightmares at bay as it usually does, but the dream I had last knight was nothing short of bizarre before waking up to the rock hard surface of a poor excuse for a bed.

I was just, floating, it was warm and pleasant, and then…light?

It was all a blur, and putting thought into it only made me dizzy.

One part of my mind was ecstatic that I actually managed to make it here, the other moaning is disappointment this wasn't all just some elaborate dream.

Anyways, there was no sense doing any house cleaning, it only served as a temporary camp, at least until they can find me more appropriate accommodations, but I feel that none of these beds could really accommodate my unique anatomy, but they were still functional

Not wanting anything to do with this decaying structure, I took all my belongings and stuffed them back into my backpack before leaving out the door into the somber overcast morning to make myself known to the somewhat startled locals.

Upon exiting, I could notice a few bugs going about their day, but upon them seeing me, looked almost afraid to make eye contact.

To be honest, they had every right to be the least bit unnerved; they saw no shell, no interlocking plates, just the smooth soft skin and a head of wavy brown hair with his skeleton on the inside.

It's no surprise we humans are afraid of own skeletons, so perhaps they are viewing something similar, but in reverse.

But it's that same biology that has that certain researcher bug, Quirrel exited, probably because he had enough knowledge to realize I was no grim reaper.

Speaking of which, he said he would meet me first thing in the morning, but I don't seem to be seeing him so far, what's taking him so long?

"Nolan?! I am over here!?" A squeaky male voice beckoned.

His awkward mannerisms to be expected from anyone who learned English as a second language, despite his supposed intellect.

Smirking at finally eying his incessant enthused waving, I quickly jogged over to him..

He was standing in front of a building that had an arch connecting 2 circular windows.

It gave off a definitive appearance of the building having glasses as if to reflect the image of the person who built.

As to who would be vain enough as to make their own shop look like their face Is well beyond my best guess, I'm not one to judge based on the fact I am just visiting.

"Ah Nolan, nice seeing you up so early, I know that we don't exactly have the so called  
CAW FOO that you humans seem to drink as part of your morning ritual.."

"Coffee Quirrel, its pronounced coffee." I bluntly corrected, I wasn't that bothered but his misunderstandings, but sense he made it his own mission to get human culture right, It only seems reasonable I correct some of the minor things.

"Ah yes. CAW FEE, my bad… we may not have that… but we do have…. Tea… green path has been generous enough to offer us their energizing herbal leaves"

I this I smirked, perhaps I won't have to quit cold turkey after all, despite tea being a bit prissy for my tastes, tea in America is often seen as a ladies drink, but I am glad they had something on hand to get my caffeine fix.

"Here, drink up, you must be thirsty!" he said handing over the much anticipated beverage in a small clay mug as I drank strong yet sweet concoction, thankful that it will get the morning fog out of my head.

"Now as you may need to know, the archives is deep underground… and surrounded by giant jellyfish… and pools of acid"

I spit-taked my tea at this.

"You're kidding right?!"

"No, in fact, my late teacher went through great pains to keep the archives as secluded as possible, and that included making sure only those who know the way could make it through unscathed"

"..and you know the way around giant floating stinging jellyfish monsters.." I quipped taking another sip of the "greenpath" blend.

"Ohhh, I must assure they are quite harmless unless provoked"

"Okay… that's good to hear…"

"Besides that, it's important you get a map in case you ever decide to go off on your own, its best you know what lies ahead, there are many areas which could still prove hazardous to an unwary traveler even after the infection being re-sealed."

Shortly afterwards, we finally went inside the glasses wearing building.

In it, I was welcomed to the sight of assorted maps and navigations tools aligning the shelves with the shop giving off a scent of fresh varnish.

As we walked up to the counter, ringing the small bell to get her attention from her counting of what appeared to be their local currency.

"baf kana…." She was cut short upon actually seeing the person who walked into her shop as I gave a friendly wave.

She just stood there… shaking, perhaps unsure as to who or what kind of person she was dealing with, and I was unsure if she was going to continue standing there or dart into the back room.

"Uhhh Quirell, can you tell her I am in need of a map…"

At this Quirell quickly explained my predicament to the female bug as she nodded in agreement… until she yelled towards the backroom as to call someone over.

At this a bug appeared from the back, his face with those glasses matching the appearance of the store front and his body shape was round and stout, a somewhat jovial look for an otherwise giant insect.

I'm guessing without a doubt he must be the store owner, she was probably a bit confused as to how to handle the situation herself as he also instantly seized up upon seeing me.

"My goodness…. A mammal….here"

Quirrel kept to his promise of translating everything they said word for word to me and vice versa.

"Yes… a mammal… more specifically a human in need of the maps you sell, my GPS on my phone doesn't exactly work underground you see" I said pulling out my smartphone, them all looking at me in a strange combination of surprise and apprehension.

"Not that I get much of a signal anyways."

As I slid it back into my pocket, Quirrel was the first to speak up before I answered the question before it could even get asked.

"I can tell you more about the device when we get to the archives, but I'm not sure about them, all they have been doing so far is just standing there whispering to each other."

At this a realization hit the scholar bug.

"Oh dear… it seems I might have overlooked an important detail…"

"..and that is"

"Well take a closer look."

At this I decided to more closely observe the female cashier bug and immediately noticed her rubbing her hooked mouth ending in a sharp pointed needle, the use couldn't be more obvious.

"ohhhhh…. There…"

"Mosquitos… yes….they are a loving married couple and have been wanting to have kids for some time, but unfortunately…"

"She needs my blood …"

That roiling, boiling feeling in my gut was coming back again.

"Well you are the only mammal Hallownest has seen in centuries… and only mammals possess the actual blood necessary to…"

"My answer is no!"

They were all back at little at my unexpected outburst, but Quirrel could certainly understand my discomfort towards the whole situation.

"I'll let them know."

At this they were quick to give me a map and assorted pins as Quirrel payed for it all out of pocket with a currency they call geo.

Based on the map being 200, it's safe to say the exchange rate is 1 dollar for 10 geo with the map being $20, because a paper map sure as hell isn't worth $200.

But sense I wasn't paying for it, It made no sense to complain as I made it out the door with the scholar bug.

I could hear both the male and female mosquito starting to cry the moment the door shut behind us.

It would be rather tasteless to go back in to see if they were actually shedding tears despite my curiosity on the matter, and I couldn't help but feel the slightest pang of sympathy for them…

I tried shaking it off as I followed Quirrel to the well.

"By the way Quirrel, do you know were Hornet went, she seemed to have vanished on us"

"She" A pause as he tried to word it in a way that didn't sound too harsh.

"Is an elusive princess, always vigilant, she doesn't see herself as in need in any free time due to her sworn duty to defend Hallownest and restore its civil society after the re-sealing… but I'm sure she'll make her presence known eventually as she found you to be an interesting development indeed."

At that title I have been hearing all too often when she was being addressed, It made me want to probe even deeper as we made our way down the well using a rope ladder before planting our feet on the floor below, only being met with vast tunnels held up by intricately carved stone archways.

There were the same small non-sapient bugs as what I have encountered on the cliffs the night before, but unlike earlier, they can easily be avoided… although I didn't exactly have anything to eat this morning.

But I shouldn't be concerned about it right now, I do have field rations that will last me a few days, but I skipped my morning meal just to stretch out the supply even further, it shouldn't taste too bad if thing got desperate enough.

"Oh dear, I think I forgot to explain one thing" Quirrel said smacking his forehead for his lack of foresight.

"What is it dude?" I said in an unexpectedly casual manner, then again no harm humoring him with a bit of slang.

"The stag ways were all recently reopened a few months ago, we have no need to trek the whole way through this labyrinth constantly looking over our shoulders for a stray vengefly"

The mere utterance of the word "vengefly" had me shutter. Even though I was clueless as to the species he was talking about, I could tell just by the "venge" in the name alone that it was probably best to stay as far away from it as possible.

"Even though we thankfully don't have to make the full journey on foot, there is still something here in the crossroads I you have wanted to see."

"You mean that re-sealing you have been talking about earlier?"

"….Follow me."

At this I followed closely behind, a bit on my toes especially after him mentioning those vengeful flies I am not too keen on seeing as I kept one of my hands by my holster, not wanting to be caught off guard.

They would have no problem against me shooting a feral beast, it's just the intelligent denizens of this ghostly shell of a kingdom that, understandably, don't deserve a slow painful death by bullet blasted shell debris and I'm not too confident on my marksmanship, I have had few real opportunities to practice at the range due to always needing to be at the back and call of those so called "real" professors.

I know far more than them, especially after finding this lost realm that has went under the scientific community's nose for centuries.

The only thing separating me from them is an arbitrary piece of paper.

I'll show them all what it truly means to brave bold new frontiers and I'll do it through sheer grit and… to be honest… a good pinch of luck, this underground crossroads is far from safe.

"Here we are, as you can see the seal is holding quite well, much to our satisfaction."

There was nothing I could compare it too as we entered the strange temple.

The air felt like it was steadily getting… heavier as we approached the strange glyph.

The weight wasn't in my imagination either, as when we approached right up to the door the downward push just became noticeable.

It was a strange sensation, almost as if this entire structure was designed to compress everything inside of it, as if my spirit itself was being pressed on all sides by an unnatural force.

"This" the scholar bug said motioning over to the 3 masks lining the stone slab.

"Is where a certain brave warrior sacrificed himself to re-seal the infection within himself.."

Quirrel looked down in distress.

"I barely knew him…her...it…. but I considered that bug a sort of friend who brought needed company when I was braving these tunnels on my own as I too was just remembering my purpose here."

At this I was a bit disheartened at that fact…but I tried to stay focused on learning what I could and shouldn't ask too personal of questions… I am already asking for too much just by being here.

"You mentioned it to be a RE sealing, what happened to the first sealing."

The bug paused in thought, looking deep within his own memory from an event that happened some time ago… seeming almost a bit embarrassed to answer the question.

"The… first seal should have gone off without a hitch… a pure vessel was…"

His nervous pauses were too readily apparent.

" **Constructed** to contain the infection within itself.. a so called vessel"

"A vessel?" I inquired.

"No mind to think…no will to break… an empty shell made only to contain…but something went wrong, I don't know exactly what, but the infection took over the vessel and…."

He was decidedly distraught at this point as he braced himself against the slab before sliding onto the floor.

"Was it really all worth it… there has to have been another way…"

I remained quiet, surprised at how he got so emotional over something he was willing to bring me too, or did he just recently remember something tragic, something to do with… thing.

In my peripheral vision, I could see a soft glow.

Turning my head to its source, I could see it was my gifted dreamcatcher glowing in assorted hues of gold and white.

I took it off the clip on my backpack wanting to study it further, but as I slowly brought it in front of my face as I glowed even brighter than before until the light consumed my vision entirely.

The experience was anything but what I was even remotely prepared for.

"My pure vessel… your time of sacrifice has arrived"

I heard a voice, I was in the same temple as before, albeit the air was clear of dust and I was off to the side, unable to move anything but my head as I passively observed in shock.

The booming voice came from a bug of surprisingly small stature; he was fully enveloped in the purest white robe, the top of his spiked head forming the visage of a crown.

The vessel he referred to said nothing as it turned to face the now opened chamber, the absolute blackness inside seeming to stretch on for eternity.

It stood at a towering 7 feet 4 inches with a face that bowed out in a crescent similar to hornet's mask, but far more primal looking with the horns themselves almost appearing to bear teeth.

"For the sake of this kingdom, there is no cost too great."

After the king said those words the looming figure of the vessel made direct eye contact with me!

I seized up in sheer terror before being met with another scene.

I was in another chamber, the windowless room only containing for stone pillars for holding…chains?

Looking down, I could see I was suspended in mid-air as those same chains were holding me aloft.

I panicked; I struggled against the chains hoping in vain to break free, but to no avail!

Then a burning sensation began to increase throughout my entire body, unlike the slow boiling of that other strange shadow sensation, this was an all-encompassing and acute burning.

"What's happening…"

The burning feeling kept intensifying; the smoldering embers were only being fed by fresh tinder from an unknown source.

"eughh…make it stop…."

Yet it never releted despite my pleas, the heat soaring ever higher as it felt like every cell in my body was being poked by equally searing hot pins and needles as the panicked groans gave way to screams of desperation.

"Make it stop! Please."

My pleas unheeded, an orange substance bubbled and broiled from my eyes and mouth as that took burned my skin with the intensity of sulfuric acid as my ability to form words quickly gave way to thoughtless agony..

 _No cost to great._

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

"NOLAN!"

Before I thought I was going to dye, I bolted up from the floor, my dreamcatcher still held firmly in my right hand as I gripped Quirrel, tears still streaming down my face from the experience, thankful to be back in the relative safety of this moment.

"You passed out on the floor, I knew I shouldn't have brought you here, I had no idea how a human would react to the void energies in this room"

"We need to get him out of there"

"What?!"

"WE NEED TO GET HIM OUT!"

"…oh dear…"

"How is it a true sacrifice when you're still alive…suffering?!"

"Nolan, the knight who gave himself up was incapable of emotion… he's doing what he was designed to d…"

"Designed… you think there just mindless golems…there… alive, I… felt its pain…"

At this Quirrel became decidedly worried.

"…There's unfortunately nothing we can do… the doors to the interior chamber are forever sealed and with it, the infection, I too wish things could have been different…"

He ceased talking about it any further, knowing it was barely helping the issue.

Just what even was that… last think I remembered I took a look at the dreamcatcher then the sheer nightmare unfolded, wasn't it supposed to protect me from those things, I don't exactly know how I could properly explain it to Quirrel, but I feel that had to be some sort of fluke.

"We should leave this place, the old stag may be tired, but he has his sworn duty to get us to where we need to go"

At this I collected myself as Qurrel helped me get back on feet; we made it out this place as soon as we can.

It was a necessary evil… for the sake of their kingdom…at that's all I could accept from the other hapless scholar.

We climbed our way back up the well to the bright light of the surface, my eyes just beginning to adjust before we made our way into another dimly lit building.

In it, there was a reasonable large cork bulletin board showing what appeared to be arrival and departure times as well as the multiple stops strewn throughout the network.

"I would like to proudly introduce you to the Dirtmouth stag station, these stations back during the kingdoms prime used to be teaming with traffic as this was the main station people went to get to all the other far flung areas in the kingdom"

I listened to him attentively as I took a picture of the bulletin for later translation.

"You know it's quite peculiar that the bugs of Hallownest were perfectly fine being carried around on stags and were quite skeptical of the new tram system the king was installing a few years before the collapse."

Quirrel looked over to me as he pressed the lever calling the lift.

"I have heard you humans are rather fond of change, but we bugs are sadly more stubborn in our ways, it's only in our nature."

"Actually… that really depends…"

The lift came to a halt at the upper level we stepped onboard the platform as some sort of weight sensing mechanism automatically triggered its decent.

It was an incredible work of complex clockwork mechanics, and how such a system with all its moving parts could function so seamlessly after what could have been years of neglect was incredible.

The lever must automatically "recharge" the spring each time its pushed, thus not require it to have a "windup" or central weight.

If we hadn't discovered electricity and the electronic revolution that followed, this would have undoubtedly been exactly what we would have accomplished in terms of pure mechanics.

But my time for study lay elsewhere in these supposed archives he said he was taking me too.

The mechanism came to an emphatic halt as we got off at the floor below.

The air was musty and earthy, almost like the earthen tunnels themselves served as the ventilation, and mold that came with.

"Would you please hang on one second, the old stag appears to be elsewhere"

With that he rang a small bell on a small upright stand, the jingle reverberating throughout the network as I could hear a large creature making its way towards us as I braced myself for its arrival.

Finally, the creature went racing out of the tunnel and skidded to a stop in front of the platform.

"Nolan, I would like to introduce you to the stag beetle"

The Stag was about the size of a large size sedan, its powerful legs, despite its apparent age, still allowed it to spring into a full gallop on the moment's notice.

On its back were a small row of seats, able to carry up to 4-6 passengers at a time.

A bit confused at first, I gave the stag a playful "hi"

"Ahh what is this…. I could tell just from your lack of shell alone you are of that elusive human species, there were legends told amongst stags of when humans used to abide in this realm, some proud to pledge their service in the name of King and Hallownest.

But others though, they still stubbornly clung to their old cult to the bitter end and eventually they mysteriously vanished, some rumored that they went elsewhere to seek refuge from the old light, others say the old light eradicated them all in one fell swoop."

I stood there a bit surprised, albeit of course I wasn't expecting our transportation to be actually intelligent himself… but was their some schism that happened, if so it had something to do with some cult, could sectarian violence have played a role in the collapse of Hallownest?

"So scholar Quirrel and Nolan the higher being, any place in mind you wish to head too?"

The stag seemed overjoyed at my presence, elated even, that he would see what he thought was a mere myth appear in front of his very eyes.

"Queens Station please, although I wish there was a station; Monomons secretiveness made that a moot possibility… I might have to plan a new stag tunnel…so this is the closest option we have I guess."

The stag crouched down to enable us to walk on top his back with ease as we both

Climbed aboard as he took off down the tunnel as a decently fast speed, certainly faster than any light rail I'm used to riding.

In a few minutes we were already at our destination as we got off as I got back on solid ground a bit dizzy.

"The archives should be short walk north from here if you would just follow me" Quirrel stated nonchalantly as he made his way out.

I was a bit irritated at the fact that he never even stopped to say thanks to the stag, which also reminded me of something very important.

"Quirrel, don't run off, don't we still have to pay him!" the stag stood there, a bit intrigued I didn't immediately walk off with my friend not paying him any more mind.

At this the scholar bug simply stopped, and gave a confused chuckle, proving that bugs were capable of laughter.

"pay him… for what?! He is a complimentary service of the stag system"

"But he just carried us a good half mile on his back, and he's no unintelligent draw animal, if it's his job, he deserves payment."

At this the stag spoke up "I don't do this for pay, I have made a sworn oath of duty towards the King, similar the oaths your people took wh…"

"THE KING IS DEAD! IT'S BEYOND OBVIOUS!" I shouted at him in rage, how he could be so willfully oblivious to this fact, as everything was crumbing around him he acted as though the kingdom was alive and well and his masters still eyeing to discipline him should he fail.

Quirrel only stood there silent and in shock as I gave the stag the harsh truth he for some reason he never bothered to share with him.

"Oath or no oath, if any man…or bug… works their ass off for the convenience of others without fair compensation, that is SLAVERY!"

"S…slave….the king de…oh no…" The stag began to panic, looking at as both and then the tunnel ahead.

"So I am free after all… no one will be there to chasten me, no one to uphold the oath.. I have been sacrificing myself for too long for the sake of a cruel lie, goodbye friend… thank you for telling me I am now free to search for my kind on my own behalf… I am free!"

With that he bolted off into the tunnel as Quirrel looked at me with what could only be an expression of sheer horror under his mask.

"That was high treason what you just did…."

I was quick to snap back in righteous indignation.

"There is no authority left in this ruin Quirrel, and no one to keep others in bondage, and were I'm from"

I scowled at him to drive home the point, my eyes narrowing into piercing daggers poised to slash through his hypocrisy.

"We don't cow tow to any monarchs!"

We never spoke to each other through our entire trip through the canyon, Quirrel was still in a state of disbelief as I was still both frustrated an puzzled that how he was so offended at the fact I freed someone from forced servitude, was he really too used to its convenience to care?

We both gave our best effort at avoiding the giant jellyfish creatures that floated in mid-air.

Their stingers stood poised to create a painful rash.

Thankfully, we finally made our way across a narrow hanging bridge across what appeared to be a moat of acid before making our way to the main foyer.

"The examination room is too the right, follow me"

His voice drained of all enthusiasm, only replaced with feelings of frustration and disappointment, possibly at the fact I apparently disrespected the kingdoms laws so flagrantly and with little regard for the "dignity" of their shitty monarch.

To him at this point I was nothing but a troublesome delinquent to be pulled by the ear if need be for daring to sabotage their transportation system with nothing more than words of truth.

I was also frustrated that a disagreement over a law so unjust could drive a wedge in our relationship.

The examination room was similar to what you would see at a standard clinic, a sink, assorted tools, and an overhead swiveling lamp.

The room also had strange cylinders filled with a strange green liquid as text popped in and vanished similar to the answer dice on a magic 8 ball.

"Lie down on the chair please." the request sounding like an order as I took off all my excess gear before laying down on the propped up clinic chair as he washed his claws in the sink with disinfecting soap.

The procedure was actually shockingly similar to a normal doctor's visit.

With a small light, He checked my ears, my mouth, and observed with fascination as my pupils dilated as he took extensive notes.

"Now let's find were your…everything is" he side as he motioned me over to another room as it contained a large clear glass cylinder surrounded by totems with their grooves glowing a distinctive white light similar to what I found on those strange tablets.

"Step inside the cylinder please" and I did just that as he locked the cylinder door with one button before pressing another.

On cue, large metal rings raced up and down in a deliberate oscillating motion as white energy was being projecting from them into me.

At first I was a bit worried, but I calmed down when the scanning made it feel like every cell in my body was getting a gentle fizzy massage as a distinctive image of insides slowly developed in the green fluid of another nearby cylinder as stats began to immediately display along the side.

"Yes, I know the scanning process can feel quite therapeutic, but it pales in comparison to the relaxing power of our hot springs ahh yes"

He looked over to the display.

"Ohh, this is quite peculiar"

"What is it?" I asked loud enough for him to hear me through the glass.

" when I went to check your soul capacity, their might have been an error in the scanning process, normally a bug has a singular reserve, a lucky few have Tier 3, but the scan says you possess Tier 7 reserves?!"

"What does it mean?"

"I have only seen this much potential before, and only higher beings possess such potential, but in such a frail body, it has the potential to rip you apart, so a failsafe was put in place here in the third eye"

He said pointing to the forehead on the display.

"Monomon has done certain experiments with nuclear forces and this is the equivalent of having the control rods permanently locked in place in order to prevent a meltdown."

"Well if there's a failsafe, what's got you so worried?"

"…there is a substance, deemed a heresy by the king, that can convert soul into raw physical strength, speed, stamina, and enhanced senses and if you ever found yourself with that substance, Wyrm knows that It would have terrified even the mightiest of the 5 great knights of Hallownest"

"So you're saying I have all this potential lying dormant, waiting for that proper catalyst"

"Exactly, which is why you should NEVER use it, but you probably won't heed my advice from the looks of it…"

Passive aggressiveness painted that last phrase.

"and also peculiar…"

"What is it?" I asked

"Why do you have void inside of you?!"

"Void?!"

"Oh dear… this is not good...how It made its way in is of little importance what's important is it certainly doesn't belong there."

 _No_

The roiling feeling surged back to full force as a gripped my abdominals as I feel to my knees hunched over.

"Nolan! Oh my I shouldn't have said anything, it provoked it! I'm sorry!"

Quirrel was frantic to shut the machine off and was quick to unlock the door to help me the best he could.

"I have been dealing with this ever sense I was born, they all said it was due to nerves" I heaved.

 _Run_

I had to run.. Had to get away, had to make it stop.

 _RUN!_

"I'm just relieved that I got to the bottom of what's making you so antisocial"

"Quirrel, stop provoking it!" I said gripping my gut as it felt that my insides were in a blender.

"The washroom is over there!" Quirrel said pointing to a door across the hall, it didit matter if I read the signs right I just had to throw up.

When I finally got done vomiting, a strange black substance mixed in with the bile, I slowly made my way out as the pain finally subsided, Quirrel waiting patiently outside the door.

"Tell me, how long you have been having that inside you"

"I could feel something off as early as age 8, the doctors just said it was due to nerves, but I knew for fact there was something inside me… now I guess I just found out and the feeling only grew more apparent as I got older."

"Interesting, what strikes me as peculiar is instead of it attacking your organic body, it appears to be… bonded to you in some way, whether that relationship is parasitic in symbiotic we will just have to wait and see… But the prognosis is disturbing."

At this I began to worry.

"What's going to happen to me"

"One of 2 things, its 50/50 odds, and either it stays in a stable state and will be docile unless provoked by extreme stress, or…"

Quirrel paused, unsure of how to deliver the worst case scenario without causing me to panic.

"It will keep growing, hollowing you out and turning you into a vessel…"

"So I'll become a zombie?!"

"Oh you will still be very much alive, albeit not _alive_ in the classical sense, but in the meantime this information will remain between the 2 of us, at least until I can figure how this even happened, I have recorded the latter process happening before, so It's best we monitor it, then we can decide if it can remain or not."

"I couldn't agree more, from what you have been saying, this void stuff is really scary."

Just then, footsteps could be heard from just outside the examination room as a familiar figure with a red cloak opened the door and walked in.

"Ahh princess, what a pleasant surprise, I was just finishing up my examination and should have an article written about it in a weeks' notice.

"I applaud your due diligence Quirrel, although, as you might already know I am far more concerned with practical matters which Is why I have come to inform Nolan that Iktomi has told the subjects of Deepnest about his arrival, and the gossip has been ceaseless."

With Quirrel pleasantly surprised about the sudden news, she methodlically turned over to my direction.

"So with that in mind, it has come to my attention that the midwife has requested you pay a personal visit to the distant village to settle the controversy."

I merely stared at Hornet a bit perturbed at this sudden turn of events, Quirrel seemed to have gotten over my "high treason" I committed earlier and I was going to work with him to gather what data I could of Hallownest.

"Unfortunately princess, the stag station is now permanently out of order, Nolan had the audacity to convince the old stag to break its oath, it will no longer answer the bell, an act of both vandalism and high treason"

Or….maybe not.

"Quirrel, I thought I already told you, he was a slave, and I was obligated to set him free!"

"You had no such authority! Once an oath is made to the king, that oath can never be broken even in dea.."

"A dead man's authority is forfeit Quirrel! I even spit on his grave."

To be honest, I'll be happy I won't see him again after I'm done with my research.

"Why you rebellious little…"

"ENOUGH!"

Hornet slashed into the argument with a commanding voice that put both our hot tempers on ice.

"I shall deal with the acolyte Quirrel, and if the stag station is no longer useable do to his negligence, then I think having to take the long way would suffice enough as punishment, the mantises should also have a decent opportunity to have the rumors spreading throughout Hallownest proven true, come here!"

Without so much as a question, I followed behind hornet; the embarrassment threatning to crush my heart like a soda can here and there.

But I reminded myself that I knew what I did was right, despite it inconveniencing everyone's travel plans as she forcefully gripped me as we flew through the air on narrow stands of silk.

I hope we get to there soon because this was terrifying! I really did prefer the stag beetle to this to be completely honest!


	4. Rumors

Chap 4: Rumors

To be honest, I was surprised to find out about her weird thread powers, but a lot of this kingdom is more than it lets on at face value.

I could feel the sudden tug from whenever she reeled it in to stay aloft, followed by a brief weightless sensation as maintained her grace and precision.

At first I was shouting in terror to make it stop as we flew through the caverns at a dizzying speed, the times she swung above pools of acid was the part that made me want it to stop the most as my voice was quite possibly reverberated off the walls.

But surprisingly in an impressive feat of self-restraint, she managed to ignore all of it.

In fact she didn't even flinch at my cries, her focus remaining steadfast to getting across this harsh terrain as fast as possible.

Until eventually, thank god, we landed back on solid ground after bounding over one final moat of acid as I almost kissed the ground as I fell onto my hands and knees, the shock of the whole ordeal still gripping my body.

"We are here acolyte, we can walk now, a relief to both of us" I knew you had no means of braving the fungal wastes, so I made haste through that blasted ground, besides…"

Her gaze locked onto mine as a finally got back to a standing position.

"You needed to learn more than ever that you're actions have consequences, however noble you think its intentions…"

She seemed a bit contemptuous at the utterance of the word "noble".

I said all I needed to say earlier, after all that, I couldn't possibly continue to argue about it, so I merely nodded at her perspective, despite her talking down to me as if I was some clueless child.

Clueless about this place, sure.

But I certainly know enough to know proper judgement, yet this…. _spoiled_ _princess_ has the nerve to say otherwise.

Turing around to get my bearings, I noticed a small gate, accompanying it were.. .and I my research continues to get more complicated…giant purple praying mantises.

Their gaze was locked onto us with the same intensity as Hornets as she began to walk towards them.

They were armed with, naturally, a pair of sharp blades that dangled from their hands, poised to slice through my soft body like a piece of cold butter.

I tensed up, not wanting to get closer as their killing intent could be seen in their stance.

Looking down I realized she also managed to carry my bag of equipment with her, being of such phenomenal strength, was probably not that much extra weight to her.

But if things go south…. I don't think I would have time to get it out the holster before they went for a clean decapitation.

Mantises, as what I have learned through documentaries, can strike with phenomenal speed that can outdo even the fastest of human reflexes.

But…why are they purple though? Are they Vikings fans?

Mustering my courage and not wanting to look weak compared to her, I put on my false bravado and walked behind her, like I knew exactly what I was doing.

As we both made it towards the main gate, one of the mantis guards spoke up.

"…..a higher being…. A human…. Here?"

Then the other blocked our way in with one of his scythe's, shaking off the shock remembering his duty.

"State your business upon entering our territory, the both of ….you…"

It was the most bizarre sight; he seemed to have seized up for second processing what he was seeing.

"On second thought, our lords would like to see to you right away…they should be down a ways."

At that they said no more as they both gave a deep bow as a sign of unwarranted respect, their gaze locked onto me in utter disbelief as we walked past them on our way through the village.

With the air tense with uncertainty as they now were all around us, Hornet spoke up to better explain the situation.

"I may have earned their respect by besting their lords in combat… but I might have underestimated their faith in old legends."

The village itself was… surprisingly sophisticated, in it was a decent array of dwellings that stretched up into the ceiling above as I saw a few clamor up the walls and into their living spaces.

From what I could see, their juveniles looked more in line with bees with their wings beating in a distinctive low hum, their stingers poised to impale any unsuspecting prey they probably are expected to hunt out on their own.

But such an age dimorphism is unheard off in insects beyond that of butterflies and moths, how this happened must have been a fluke of evolution.

My Polaroid at the ready, I snapped a photo at any and every opportune moment.

Dotting the street were a few shops that I could only guess from first appearances as I could see a mantis warrior sharpening its sharp blades on a grinding stone… only to immediately stop and stare dumbfounded at me.

What surprised me the most upon closer inspection was the blades, unlike those of their young, weren't natural; instead the bladed weapons had large sleeves that they slid their forearm in and went up to their elbows, grasping the blade in a reverse grip.

It was probably a given that they did have hands of some sort based on the fact that the existence of nailed together wooden structures.

Perhaps out of tradition and a sense of connection to their primal past, they would use weapons inspired by what used to be a natural part of them, and that's IF natural evolution was at play.

But I'm no biologist; I can only study their culture.

The rest can wait on future expeditions.

"Based on the villages close proximity with my people's borders, they stand poised for a fight at any moment as they are massed right at its main entrance."

My ears perked at hornets comment, was there a tension between these 2 people I was unaware off, but based on Hornet seeming to be from this so called Deepnest.

The fact they didn't immediately attack her shows they're on a truce, albeit an uneasy one.

On the other side I was given my answer as what other roles existed in this tribe; as I could see a small apothecary with the mantis grinding the herbs needed for medicine as spoke chants over it.

I guess they don't call them _praying_ mantises for nothing.

Anyways, despite their apparent warrior emphasis, there is no honor in dying from an easily preventable illness and the power to save a life should never be overlooked lest it ensure a peoples demise.

As we continued down set after set of stairs towards their council, I noticed that even had a sizable library, showing they are, luckily, highly literate.

I am going to have to wait until later to take the trouble translating their texts with them and Quirrel's help.

Well that's if he's welcome here, and I might have to save face and apologize.

Despite our near polar opposite ideologies and my frustration at his lack of fluency in freedom, arguing was only going to inhibit my research.

Making it down a final flight of stairs, we finally presented ourselves in front of their lords as they stood proud and tall, in fact they stood a a height comparable to the large vessel I saw in my earlier dream vision.

Their horns extended above their head in the convenient visage of a crown with each with a short purple cloak draped over their shoulders.

At this the first sister finally spoke.

"So the rumors are indeed true, intriguing."

Then the second had its turn.

"He wears the strangest of garb."

Finally, the third had its say.

"He is certainly… smaller… than I expected.."

Hornet was generous enough to translate each word.

"Novara, Scerri, and Mercia, I show you that indeed the rumors that Iktomi have been spreading are indeed true, mankind, after many centuries, has finally returned to Hallownest."

I would love to look further into why they have western sounding names, but that's unimportant for right now.

I merely gave nervous wave and a coy smile all three leaned forward in their thrones in an attempt to observe me more closely.

"So it seems…" spoke up the one in the middle.

"Albeit If it has come down here to challenge us and prove his might, I don't see him in possession of any appropriate weapon, it's foolish to think he can take us on bare handed."

At this my eyes flashed with delight as I drew my gun.

"Don't be so hasty my ladies; I don't think you would stand much of a chance anyways when I have come with a weapon of instant fiery metallic death!"

Contrary to the expected reaction of shock and awe, they merely gave a unanimous expression of disgust.

"A fireclaw?! HERE?! Outrageous! It is the weapon of common thugs and bandits!"

The lord on the right was fuming with rage at the presentation.

"There is no honor in such weapons; we demand an honorable challenge, nail to nail, to demonstrate his prowess, not a petty assassination, such a weapon is never the choice of any true _honorable_ warrior!"

"But even then…" the mantis lord on the left stood up from her chair and in a flash had her nail lance poised at my throat as my heart stopped dead in its tracks, Hornet completely caught off guard at the unexpected action.

"Would he even have the time to fire it?"

Making her point defiantly clear, she darted back to her assigned throne and sat down, resting her head in one of her hands in disappointment.

"All three of us are in agreement; this man is unfit for our trial! Despite him being a higher being of apparent renown, I can tell he knows absolutely nothing about the art of the nail! Even if the legends are indeed true, this is an unacceptable insult!"

All 3 nodded in agreement as I looked over to an empty throne that looked like it had seen better days, trying my best to fake royal etiquette, a rudimentary council is a decent step up from mere autocracy, but I can tell just from the way they were speaking to me that they were accountable to no one else but themselves, an oligarchy!

But for the sake of my life, I tried my best to be polite in hopes my charm could win them over.

"Excuse me my ladies, I don't mean to speak out of turn, but it seems like the 4th member of your council is missing, could you expl…"

"That seat no longer exists; he was a lowly traitor who committed treason against his own tribe, wishing instead to bloat his own power and ego."

"It only proves a fact we have known for a long time that _men_ are unfit to lead, they always let their pride and arrogance get the best of them!"

I clenched my fist at that comment the lord on the left made, she knew exactly how I would feel at that comment, how dare she makes the claim that I'm unfit to lead, it took great mental discipline to get to where I am now!

Such bigotry! Such hypocrisy! They never knew me!

"But we digress, he is no warrior, but perhaps he can be put to some use if you wish to give him to us as a peace offering!"

WHAT?!

Hornet was in full agreement with me on this one.

"Give you the acolyte? Never!"

She keeps using that word; I don't remember agreeing to anything relating to that title…

"Perhaps then we can teach him to fight like a _proper_ warrior!" Lord Novara said mockingly, towards hornet as an attempt to belittle her own competence.

Hornet merely stood there, trying with all her might to contain her urge to challenge them all to combat right then and there.

"Let me make one thing clear, I shall train the acolyte in _our_ ways, then he shall challenge you 3 in a proper fight… and he shall win!"

Wha wha WHAT?!

"Challenge accepted, the way to Deepnest is open, don't show your faces to us again until then, and if he loses, he will belong to us as a living trophy and symbol of our triumph over Deepnest!"

A part of me said I should try another angle; the stakes they set were certainly higher than mere bragging rights.

But I don't really see any other option other than earning their respect through combat, they were a martial society and if I am going to access their records for the sake of my dissertation, I needed that respect.

Besides, have I ever been the kind of guy to turn down a high stakes dare, I'll be more than happy to show them what a _real man_ is capable of.

Not just any man, but a man from the freest nation on earth, a country was no one's destiny is determined by birthright, by through the merits of their actions.

Now that would be the greatest insult to injury.

Their faith in their abilities may be noteworthy, but my faith in freedom and democracy is stronger, and I will show them that anyone can be where they are through sheer grit, determination, and hard work.

They deserve nothing more than to be taken off their high thrones and given a lesson in perspective, which the word "commoner" is not even in my vocabulary.

"NOLAN!"

Hornet was quick to snap me out of my daydream as the lords looked at me trying to hold back a laugh.

But not wanting to focus on the HOW, we kept our heads level as we made our way into the dark unlit tunnel, snide comments and snickers being heard behind me.

So then letting her lead the way as to not fall into any unexpected spike traps, I turned my electric lantern back on, this time on a lower power setting.

It's obvious the native inhabitants of Deepest are used to the dark, in fact their was a lack of any natural light save for the small beams of sunlight that leaked through cracks in the ceiling.

Even if they would, according to their apparent gossiping, that they were _estatic_ to meet me, it's best not to startle them with any sudden bright light.

If Iktomi and his comments were anything to go buy, this was it, the dwelling place of his kind, spiders around his size as I gripped my lantern tight in apprehension.

It wasn't a matter of if I saw more like him, but when, and in these dark tunnels it had me as the darkness inevitably bred paranoia.

"Ahh hornet, are you sure were going the right way?"

I asked a simple question, not sure where we were or how far we had to go as … did I hear something skitter? Oh crap…oh crap….

She merely looked over her shoulder and spoke in a casual matter of fact fashion.

"Why of course acolyte, the spiders who live here have not much need for much light to navigate these caves, but I can understand why you desperately cling to that lantern."

Almost on cue I could hear a perturbed screech.

"I knew that light was coming from somewhere!"

Turning around I could for a split second see a spider that looked similar to Iktomi, it had a similar rounded mask encasing its face with a series of small, spindly legs sprawling out from under a small grey cloak.

"Ohhh… my princess… he's beautiful, it's exactly as the old woven legends described them. truly I am blessed to see one face to face."

I began to shiver in anxiety, I couldn't understand what It was saying as it slowly began to crawl towards me.

The intrusive memory of Iktomi poking me all over with his legs came rushing back to the front of my mind.

 _You're not afraid of spiders are you_

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled, fearing for my life, as the spider merely stopped in place and tilted its head in a gesture of confusion, or more or less listed his body to the side to imitate the gesture.

"Are you…okay acolyte?! Do you require medicine?"

Hornet, remembering my lack of knowledge of their language, was quick to translate as she grabbed me by the shoulder before I could bolt off into the dark tunnels alone in a panic.

"Nolan! There was no need to yell, I can understand your shock of meeting the inhabitants of Deepnest for the first time, and it's a given you are not that used to the dark, but I assure you, the last thing they want to do when they see you is hurt you.

Just breathe acolyte. He is merely one of our advance scouts, here to welcome you to our domain."

"The pleasure is all mine princess. The name is Zac by the way" he said offering a salute with one of his legs. "I am so sorry to have scared you Nolan the acolyte, but that serves as one of our greatest strengths against those who wish to do us harm, and I assure you I'f any harm should come to you that person shall meet our swift wrath, hope we meet again acolyte Nolan."

With that he darted back off into the darkness to continue his patrol through the dimly lit tunnels.

With so many twists and turns, the multiple twisting paths guaranteeing anyone who doesn't know this domain by the back of their head as guaranteed to get lost.

All around me I could hear the faint whispers of other spiders, just out of reach of my lanterns light, some passing right by me unseen as they were as quiet as they were quick.

"Is that an acolyte, with the princess?"

"He wears such strange clothes."

"I wish I could follow them, but I don't want to antagonize him or the princess, I have a web to check."

"Deepnest has yet to fully recover from the infection; most of the survivors are back at the village engaging in reconstruction efforts" Hornet giving off a serious, matter of fact tone as usual of her personality.

If I had to best guess her demeanor and lack of words, it would have to fall somewhere within the ISTJ range, so serious, yet so determined and responsible.

The mere fact the infectious plague extended as far as Deepnest just proved how devastating it really was towards this whole underground realm.

"That makes sense; otherwise they wouldn't have been so timid."

"I apologize for the long walk; I have irresponsibly run out of thread and I usually need to head to the weavers den to replenish my supply, I should have accounted for an unexpected visitor."

She looked over her shoulder to gratuitously check if I was still following, then looking back ahead she continued, her tone getting noticeable softer.

"In the time of the Pale King, there were attempts to set up a certain tram system, albeit my mother, Queen Herrah, had her suspicions.

The lower tram was finished without issue; it was the upper tram that had her worried.

Despite the Kings assurances of good faith, she never trusted him as much as she could throw him, despite the fact she could have thrown him quite far."

That last comment showing a somewhat dry sense of humor underlying her story.

"…and ordered the construction of the upper tram, which risked allowing direct access to the central village, to be halted or face judgement, any who refused heed her warning, were to be killed on sight by one of her devouts."

I tugged at my shirt collar a bit; A bit taken back by her mother's apparent ruthlessness.

"Luckily they did the smart thing and left, save for a few foolish outliers."

I partially breathed a sigh of relief, but she did have to assert her authority somehow, however crude of an authority it was.

"The Queen sounds a bit a paranoid, in my honest opinion"

Hornet merely sighed at my comment.

"She did what she had to do for the greater good of Deepnest… up until the bitter end."

The last part had me concerned.

"…What bitter end?" I said, keeping it at a timid volume, unsure if it should be said to her or just me.

Luckily she didn't seem to have noticed my question.

Feeling as though this dark trek would never end, the dirt gave way to stone masonry as hornet stopped in front of a hole in the floor.

"Midwife should be right down below acolyte, watch your steps carefully acolyte."

Heeding her fair warning, we carefully made our way down towards wherever this supposed midwife dwelled.

Carefully making our way downwards and turning a final corner, we were met with the sight of many smaller spiders In a somewhat expansive dugout, each assembled in their own little groups, their attentions glued to whatever it is they were focused on.

Much to my surprise, they were playing just like any normal group of kids would, some playing with crude wooden blocks, another group running around appearing to be playing tag, another appearing to play a game similar to patty cake.

A third group was, fittingly enough, trying to best at a simple string game.

It all looked so adorable and innocent….

"Ah princess you are back, so nice to see you again dearie, oh and look at who else is here children."

At this the children immediately looked away at what they were doing as they almost seemed to freeze in place, stunned with surprise as they took a second to register in their minds what they couldn't believe.

"OHH MY GODDESS QUEEN, IT'S AN ACOLYTE, A REAL ACOLYTE!" one of the kids screamed as they exploded into an ecstatic frenzy.

"…and the princess too! This is the best day ever!"

Before they would have inevitably rushed at me as a braced myself for their insatiable curiosity, Midwife was quick to intervene.

"KIDS settle down, you're scaring the young man."

"Thank you midwife!" The kids all said in unison, of course they took it as a compliment.

"…and please don't take our late queen's name in vain, that's very uncouth of you, Elpis."

"Sorry Midwife Agatha."

Hornet was quick to give me a quick exposition as she turned to me.

"We don't usually confer last names except in the rare case of egg twins, instead we defer to our occupations to distinguish ourselves, and to call someone by their maiden name is a sign of respect."

I nodded in acknowledgement as I was quick to jot down their customs on my trusty notepad.

The Midwife was immensely larger than any of the spiders I've seen, the cheery expression painted on her pale white mask presenting a reassuring comfort that pleasantly drew away my attention from the reality of her nature, but the expression fits her role as the nests assigned caretaker and nurturer.

That didn't stop me from shaking in my boots as I caught a small glimpse of those sharp mandibles that lied underneath the façade.

Hornet was there to translate back and forth after explaining my illiteracy.

"But I agree, this is a pleasant surprise indeed…. I always knew, deep in my heart, that the stories I told the children about the acolytes was more than just pleasant fairy tales I told the kids every night before sleep time."

"I dreamt a lot about the acolytes, they always give me lots of candy and squashed those meanies who were always picking on me. Do you have any candy for me?" One of the kids dream tales made me chuckle a bit.

I'm flattered, honest, speaking of candy.

"As a matter of fact I do." I said getting out a small bag of skittles as I poured a bit out from my hand and held my palm out flat.

"Really!? YAY!"

As his mask parted to reveal the true face underneath as he seemed to have swipied the small colored candies out my hand in an instant, thankful that her bites barely scraped my hands.

"Thank you sir"

"You're welcome kid." I said with a halfhearted smile.

I have wanted to find an answer to a question that has bugged me for quite some time up to this point (no pun intended).

"So I keep hearing them refer to me as an acolyte, I keep hearing that term thrown around quite a lot, could you care to explain?"

"I'm glad you asked my dear acolyte, you see, according to the woven legends, you were all her personal creations."

"…" I had nothing as she continued.

"She took the earth and clay, and mixed it with her sacred saliva."

I gave a quizzical look at the concept of magical saliva.

"Then, when the clay was molded into the shape she desired, she sang the _Song of Creation_ , and you all came to life."

I was taken back at this, their Queen taking credit for the creation of mankind…

"The song of creation?" I asked.

"It was a legendary song that only the queen and her closest weaver advisors know, its melody and lyrics are still a closely kept royal secret as to prevent its misuse"

Her voice began to shift to a warmer sing-song tone, as she was savoring the fact of seeing an "acolyte" with her set of stationary, pitch black eyes.

"Sense then, you pledged your utter love and devotion to her and she offers you her protection and guidance for she loved you all so very much as well, in ages past your ancestors served as her personal attendants, retainers, and messengers."

The kids were glued to her words as she narrated the old myth.

"But you always wandered off, always forgot, I'm just glad the princess, OUR princess Hornet, has finally found one who has remembered."

It would be rude of me to correct the myth, in fact I find a quite beautiful allegory and if they want to see me as one of their own, so be it.

"As you are one of our kin, all I can say is _welcome home._ "

Flashes and fragments of old dreams long past raced through my mind before I was brought back to the present, the spider children looking up to me with awe.

"You are free to stay as long as you like, the acolyte dwellings in our Queen Goddess' den may have collected a bit of dust, but everything is where it should be."

Hornet, despite her mask, was giving off a sense of a small smile of appreciation, however brief it was.

"Thank you so much for the warm welcome Midwife, as you can see an acolyte, after they all seemed to be extinct, has returned to Deepnest"

"Are you the last of your kind?" Asked another concerned voice of a young female spider as they all looked at me with concern as I was happy to reassure her.

"No, in fact theirs billions of us, we just live beyond the wastes"

The kids all gave a collective "woah" at that statement.

"There's a land beyond the wastes?!"

"What's in the bag?"

"Doesn't it get crowded?"

The question came at me like a raging wildfire, but I was quick to answer them all to the best of my abilities.

"as a matter of fact there is, it just so happens this underground oasis just so happens to be in the middle of a big dessert and it depends were you live if its crowded or not, we have A LOT of space to live in after all, as for what's in my bag."

Trying my best to show them something worthwhile after coming all this way, I pulled out my large portable Bluetooth speaker as they, even the usually stoic hornet, gave a collective gasp as I placed it on a flat patch of ground.

"What is it?"

"You'll see."

Without further delay I hit the play button.

 _Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world_

 _She took the midnight train going anywhere_

At this everyone gasped at how the small object appeared to come to life filling the space with one of my personal favorites as I tried my best to lip-sync.

 _Just a city boy. Born and raised in south Detroit._

 _He took the midnight train going anywhere._

"Why… where is all the sound coming from? Enchanted sound amplification is one thing but to come from such a small object?" Hornet said utterly dumbfounded as she listened along.

 _A singer in a smokey room_

 _The smell of wine and cheap perfume_

 _For a smile they can share the night_

 _It goes on and on and on and on!_

Midwife was also quick to comment.

"I was just about to get to the fact that acolytes are exceptional masters of songcraft, the nature of their birthright, and this had to be from them, no bug short of the butterflies can match the richness of voice I am hearing right now."

Then the electric guitars kicked in as I began to sing along.

" _Strangers… waiting…up and down the boulevard, their shadows searching in the night"_

"By my mother's name...you would have made even her cry with joy, but such strange instruments." Hornet commented, stunned at my on key karaoke, but taken back at the amplified and distorted guitar riffs.

" _Hiding, somewhere in the niiiiiiiiight."_

Nailed it.

After my excellent performance and shutting off the speaker, the room was deathly silent.

I might have gone a bit overboard in some areas bu…

"That was totally wicked!" Shouted one of the kids as the rest gave a collective whoop, clattering their front legs together in their version of applause, the sound ringing a bit hollow than compared to normal human hands, but appreciated nonetheless.

"Now if you don't mind, sense I'm here, I was hoping to find out the mysteries surrounding my dreamcatcher my grandmother gave me before she passed away"

At this Midwife leaned in close to get a closer look at the charm.

"Ohhhh and you have a fate-weave as well, you truly are a pleasant bundle of surprises, It probably kept you safe all these years from those bad dreams, but this one is from the master weaver himself from the specific pattern, you should see too it right away that he tells you everything about this particular one"

"and I will… it has been acting up lately… giving me these strange visions… but I don't want to keep the kids up any longer than they need too, im not sure if its nighttime but I do feel tired."

"Feel free to stop by anytime acolyte Nolan, the children have taken quite a liking to you it seems."

"I'll think about it, in the meantime I have other business I need to attend too."

"As do I." added the spider princess.

"The acolyte requires sleep, and come the morning he shall be trained by me personally to be a knight."

"That is such a remarkable honor, to be personally trained by the princess herself, to be a knight." Midwife said.

"That's so cool" added one of the kids.

"That's _if_ he's willing." hornet added, a thinly veiled dare.

"Oh I'm willing alright; those mantis pricks won't know what hit them!"

A more rational part of me is telling me not go through with this, but who else would get this opportunity to become a badass and beat down a trio of prissy aristocrats that insulted my manhood, I WOULD!

Right before we could leave however one of my hands was brushed by one of the kids legs as they gestured me to look down.

The question was as straightforward as it was sincere.

"Will you stay?"

If the weaver kid could make a human face, it would have had those innocent puppy dog eyes.

"Here in Deepnest I mean, you're a real acolyte and we don't want to see you leave and and And you're so nice."

I had to think quickly, she was trying to hold back tears if spiders ever had tear ducts.

Crouching down to her level, I patted her on the mask.

"Hey don't worry, I promise you I'll be back before you know it and ill bring candy for everyone"

I tried my best to give a sincere smile despite the white lie.

"Thank you." was all she said before we left the day care as me and hornet made our way to the den the queen and her mother dwelled.

Despite me needing to collect whatever evidence I could of this strange domain and return home to present it, that kids question irked me more than it should.

They have probably not spent that much time with their parents as they were probably all busy working all day and night trying to restore this subterranean kingdom to its relative former glory, and to have, from their perspective, a mythical creature visit them when they least expected that was a blast to be around.

I could just imagine that I gave those kids a fresh hope, and in a way, a kindly father figure that they could look up to, to inspire hope and joy.

Besting those rival lords would definitely make their day.

Would it be right to just leave and never come back once I'm done with my quest?

But that answer can wait, come tomorrow after getting me settled in the human quarters is that I'm going to pay Iktomi a surprise visit about the secrets of this dreamcatcher he's been keeping from me.

Strangely enough, why has the prissy pants princess been so aloof whenever I tried asking her about her mother on our way back up to the main path?


	5. Knighthood

Chap 5: Knighthood

Even after spending a good solid 2 days here, I still can't seem to shake off that nagging feeling of disbelief, that I might have actually suffered a car accident and this is just some ultra-sophisticated coma dream.

I have truly found myself in a bizarre realm of what could be seen as so familiar in many ways, yet still considerably different from anything we ever saw before.

Talking bugs, and spiders!?

If there was one thing that was honestly something that's going to be the hardest, it would be convincing the scientific community of these findings.

Many Archeologists dedicate years of their lives to finding their magnum opus, that hidden fortune, that certain lost city or treasure, that one discovery that propels them into stardom.

Tragically, many lifelong searches end in soul crushing disappointment.

My stomach begging for some sustenance as I stupidly forgot to eat last night, i tore open a quick oatmeal MRE and a small plastic bottle of orange juice.

ugghhh it really does taste like cardboard, buts it will have to do sense my gas stove would be too much of a fire hazard with how surprisingly dry it is in here considering the surrounding damp cave system.

Thankfully, my orange juiced drowned out the wooden re-processed taste before I could gag it back up.

With that being said, trying to get my mind off my horrible choice of rations, what are the odds of just one day having a breakthrough discovery handed to you, out of nowhere on a silver platter?

While I may dislike that spider Iktomi's trickster tendencies, I'm more than grateful that he gave me the ability to find Hallownest in the first place, and for that, I owe him one, does he like beer, can bugs even metabolize alcohol?

If so, I hope he likes Fosters.

Again, I keep reminding myself, I'm an archeology major, not a biologist, and I'll have to leave it to the later expeditions to show me the "why" instead of simply the "what" is here.

That's both the frustrating and amazing thing about these endeavors; any amount of answers is guaranteed to lead to a multitude of more answers. It's a never ending journey of discovery and adventure and that's what makes especially this pursuit so engaging and fun.

There were a few halls worth of dorms to choose; denoting a considerable large entourage, back when Queen Herrah used to have human servants in the distant past from what this nests main child caretaker told me.

I couldn't exactly read the language of the signs, but I could guess the 4 separate halls housed the males and female servants respectively. 2 halls for the younger servants and the other 2 for the older ones, with special rooms set aside for the higher ranking staff.

Hornet felt near obliged to assign me to the chamberlains and/or cupbearers quarters, it was somewhat more spacious than your average hotel or guest room, complete with a bookshelf and work desk, the only complaint I had that I didn't quite feel comfortable telling her was the lack of running water, luckily I brought my own, so I was still set in regards to drinking water.

Hygiene was another issue entirely though.

Lighting the room was a pair of lanterns with just enough brightness that I could adequately see everything, but not so bright that it disturbed my sleep.

It was that same bizarre dream as before, I was floating, only seeing this bright golden organge light, it all made me feel incredibly warm.

Alongside that, I could hear the faintest whispers of the sultriest and gentlest of feminine voices.

 _Dawn will break, I will not be forgotten_

 _The light cannot be consumed_

 _Let me be free!_

 _The kings brand , with it lies the key.._

Only to wake up sweaty and confused at what it all meant.

Perhaps the dreamcatcher has something to do with it and perhaps Iktomi can tell me what's making it act up.

Lumaflies, being live animals, aren't exactly something you can just turn on and off on a whim.

As I woke up from a much needed restful sleep from, to be honest, was the softest queen size bed I ever slept on in my life, silken sheets and all, I opened the blinds to welcome the sun, only to realize that, of course, I was deep underground.

I sighed at the dreariness of it all.

How did the humans who used to work here in The Queens Den even survive?

Unlike them, we NEED sunlight, perhaps the retainers who worked here were given regular outings above ground to rest, relax, gossip, and not get the dreaded rickets.

But that's just speculation on my part.

Finally, remembering that Hornet said that my training would start immediately starting today, I made an effort to get up at around 6:00am.

Despite my body's reaction to the early morning hours, I learned to get pretty used to it based on my previous basic training experience in the ROTC, perhaps she could tell from my posture I had previous training, otherwise she wouldn't have felt as confident in recruiting me.

As well as that, my thoughts sometimes drifted towards the reason why I'm glad I'm as far away from the university as possible.

I hate Professor Davis with a passion, he represents all the smugness, arrogance, and complacency in modern academia that has put the true quest for discovery on a standstill, more comfortable dealing in blind speculation and hypothesis' than getting their hands dirty and risking life and limb on a real expedition, but I still needed to make it by with my archeology major somehow, and its good money.

I can't wait to see the look on his face when I come back not only with a comprehensive thesis that would give even Indiana Jones a heart attack, but as a true knight that most of us dream of being as kids, a knight that bested those so called mantis lords and showed them the power of true American grit and determination that got me so far from the boonies and into an acclaimed university.

They would HAVE to respect me after everything I risked so far just to be where I am now, and then some!

Either that or I could just be that giddy child in me that was more than willing to that certain special fairy tale hero, so my ego was definitely playing a role here just to be honest with myself.

Shaking off my daydreaming and finally willing myself out of bed, I slowly and confidently walked in front of the large mirror that stood across from the bed.

"Who's the Knight to be? I am, oh yeah." I said pointing to myself, flexing my muscles and getting myself in the right frame of mind before motioning over to the wardrobe, sulking at the fact that, as I keep reminding myself, there was no real running water or laundry service down here.

Regretting the fact of not packing more clothes, beyond a simple pair of pajamas, I got out of them and put on my usual adventurer's attire of a simple shirt, pants, belt with the ornate room key attached to one of the loops and my trusty brown work jacket.

I honestly hope she'll understand my situation, hopefully she lacks a sense of smell, given the fact I haven't showered in 2 days… getting proper plumbing installed wouldn't be a bad idea.

Knowing I possibly won't be going anywhere far for the drills, I left my heavy stuff including my unwieldy bag of equipment in the room as I left the quarters with a creaky shut of the door.

Compared to the room, which was probably recently cleaned for me, the surrounding halls were still rather dusty and damp, with loose webbing strewn about as I got a bit frustrated on constantly running into it, sometimes the few spiders on patrol in the den helping me get loose from some of the thicker snags before quickly apologizing in their native language for the inconvenience. .

The weavers possibly have these webs here as a good security measure in case anyone unauthorized tried to break into the premises, smart on them, I just need to memorize were all the snags are it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I don't want to think that much about how the spider queen handled criminal justice down here, but I hope they were given a fair trial, even though it was probably an automatic death penalty based on what Hornet clued me to what her mother was like.

I would honestly say Herrah had an "iron fist and velvet glove" leadership style, and the apple certainly didn't fall too far from the tree.

Speaking of which whenever I tried asking hornet about her mother and why I wasn't allowed to see her when I was stopped short of her private quarters, she only gave me a blunt "you'll meet her when ready." before following up with a chilling silence.

Thankfully remembering what route I took to get to the dorm in the first place, I finally found my way to the main hall of the den were once the spider queen Herrah held court and hosted feasts as well as other assorted entertainment.

Now though, the hall was now only filled with dreary, depressing silence save for the diligent, uptight spider princess Hornet, who ominously stood in the middle of the room, waiting for me as I made my way down the main spiral staircase.

"I can see you have awoken early, that's good acolyte, and it certainly shows you take your training seriously."

Her firm regal authoritative tone creating an air of acute judgement that I couldn't just shake off as I made my way to the base of the stairs, stood in front of her, and from what I learned of royal formalities, presented myself with a low bow.

"I am ready when you are princess."

She was quick to scrutinize with ruthless precision.

"You are bowing too low; you are a knight in training, not a lay commoner, 15 degrees higher!"

At this command, I complied and raised my bow slightly higher, making eye contact, and trying not to show any nervousness at her piercing expressionless gaze.

"Better" she stated bluntly as I stood back upright.

"First, we need to get you a proper nail, hand to hand combat training can come later, a quick lesson in our history is in order, most of Deepnest's metalworking was also done in the weavers den, as weaponry was one our second most well-known export next to silk before the fall, fact be told it was the weavers who crafted the needle nail you see me holding right now"

She held out her needle nail horizontally in front of her as to show off the blades workmanship before pulling it back to her side.

"Their craftsmanship with metal was. Or is… as delicate and precise as anything they weaved or have ever woven, they even weave their silk in with the metal as its being forged to further increase its tensile strength, making it virtually unbreakable, there we should be able to find a spare, come along acolyte."

Holding out her hand in a gesture to come with, I knew what came next, but I was lucky at the fact I didn't really need to ask her to bring me there, Deepnest wasn't exactly the most pedestrian friendly place around and Hornet, being de facto leader, was in a constant crunch for time attending to the various restoration projects.

Grabbing her hand, as before, she pulled me in close before launching us both through the air using her silk grapple technique.

I was more trusting of the fact she knew what she was doing, so I wasn't as scared this time around, despite me instinctively wincing at the uncomfortable floating/falling sensation.

Before I knew we landing in a dimly lit corridor as I automatically scanned for the nearest source of light to be met with an entrance to a strange alcove.

Alright Iktomi, it's about time I finally get some answers.

I began to walk to the entrance of this supposed weavers den before I was stopped from progressing any further by a rather large spider that let out a loud chirrup.

"AHH" I jumped a little in bewilderment and surprise.

"HALT! State your business in Deepnest now o"

He paused abruptly.

"Wait is that?"

He unfurled his gilded metallic mask to his true face accompanied by a pair of brass and steel blades that he wore over his already intimating front appendages that bore sharpened steel blades poised to cut down any would be intruder.

"…. oh wait… you're that acolyte whom everyone including my cohorts wouldn't stop talking about, I didn't believe any of them, thought it was some nonsense brought up for nothing else than to pass the time, but here you are, sorry about that, it's rather hard to see out of my front shield mask to be honest, that's why we're always stumbling back and forth a lot, don't tell the princess I said that though."

Unfortunately she was right behind me to translate what he just said as he let out some sort of inaudible curse, embarrassed that he showed the princess a moment of weakness.

He extended one of his bladed appendages outward, trying he best to continue in a dignified manner befitting of a guard serious about his job.

"… Anyways I am Cyrus, A devout worshipper of our goddess queen Herrah and sworn guardian of the sacred spaces, as you can see, we primarily serve as elite guards and enforcers of Herrahs law, seeing as you are of one of Deepnest's honored caste, according to her law, you possess the privilege of having access to the weavers den, you may pass."

With that the devout stepped aside and gave a salute of respect as he stood aside and let us enter into the abode of the elusive weaver clan.

I could hear a low pulsing rumble on the outside, at first I thought it was just the cave currents, but when we both finally entered the weavers den I was surprised to hear easily recognizable disco music as it got progressively louder as we approached the central work room with hornet tilting her head for a moment in confusion before continuing to walk forward.

" _Well you can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man: no time to talk._

 _Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around sense I was born"_

Upon entering the main weaving hall, we saw the culprit was none other than that troublemaking arachnid himself, Iktomi, singing along as he was in the middle of welding something together; my best guess is he stole both that gas blow torch from a human welding shop sometime after he met me.

" _And now it's all right. That's okay, and you may look the other way,_

 _We can try to understand the New York times effect on man!"_

"Master Weaver Iktomi, the acolyte is here!" Hornet yelled, instantly pulling the master weaver out of his headspace.

"Oh, Princess Hornet!?

As he took a free leg and stopped the record, wincing a little at the hard stopping scratch on the old mechanical phonograph.

"Apologies, I forgot how you tend to always arrive ahead of schedule, do you like it, the humans call this kind of music disco, it has a lot more pump and energy to it than those dreary opera tunes you hear at the pleasure house, and I was pleasantly surprised that human long play records fit perfectly onto this old girl."

He lightly tapped the phonograph affectionately.

"Besides that, I would also like to introduce you to Deepnest's first ever toilet." He said as he pushed aside the spark screen to reveal an early 20th century styled toilet.

"Tada, weaving, welding, they are only a few letters apart."

"Impressive… but how exactly is a spider supposed to... .Well use it?" I asked.

" I see you once again put your stag before its carriage Iktomi." commented the spider princess.

"Nonsense, getting proper plumbing fitted to the dwellings would take no time at all, here allow me to demonstrate."

He then proceeded to open the top lid and climbed onto it

"You see a spider simply needs to balance himself over the water as such" he said with his legs splayed out over the toilet bowl, his legs shaking before inevitably slipping and falling in.

"Luckily for me, I was smart enough to not put any water in it yet!"

He was climbed out and straightened out his cloak.

"I would have to say that I would have to decline the introduction of that contraption in its current state." Hornet stated plainly before switching to the main topic at hand with precise timing.

"Nonetheless, sense you have returned; it is prudent of me to inquire why you have offered directions to Hallownest to this acolyte without a proper escort?"

"I would also like to know the who, why, what, where of my dreamcatcher; it gave me this horribly painful vision despite it supposed to be protecting me." I said holding up my red and purple charm.

"It still works, but I feel there is more to this dreamcatcher than what it's supposed to do"

Iktomi nodded in simple acknowledgement.

"Well the answer to the first question is more than simple, he was deathly curious about discovering this place, so being a bearer of knowledge myself, I helped him out, simple as that, I could also just feel something **special** about that kid, his spunk, his enthusiasm, his need for a dissertation, and quite possibly something instinctive told me he was using our magic, like that same intuitive feeling I get whenever I come across a fellow weaver in human form, we have integrated quite well and try our best to make find work elsewhere, however menial, they don't suspect a thing, but we still have our regrets for not being able to do more to stop the infection, but I digress."

"You do realize it's an incredibly perilous journey just to get here." Hornets gripped her blade ever tighter.

"He would of most certainly have been impaled on the trap spikes in the kings pass if I wasn't there so save him!" her voice beginning to rise ever so slightly in anger and frustration.

"Oh I knew you would find him before he even made it to the cliff face."

"You don't know that!"

"Oh do I, not only am I still the master among weavers, and was, on occasion, a court jester."

He didn't need to tell me that last part, I kind of already knew.

"I was also Deepnest's go to sooth seer, and I had a vision that he would be alright, c'mon princess, I may be a teaser and a pleaser, but I'm no tear jerker."

"If you say so…" I said with a partial sigh, not fully believing in what he was saying.

"Now as for that second question, first Nolan, tell me what you know about the old legend concerning the dreamcatcher."

"Well I only know the gist that they are supposed to catch bad dreams in its web so good dreams can pass through the hole."

"Ahh, that much is true Nolan, good job on accomplishing that much." he said gesturing with one of his free legs before giving me a condescending pat on the head.

"But that is only part of a greater picture, you see when the world was young, a young human shaman met me in my true form as I spoke to him in our native language that he was gifted in understanding. Speaking of which"

He ruch out with one of his legs to touch the center of my forhead as I saw a quick flash in my vision.

"There, you're now gifted in understanding us, this will make things a whole lot less awkward sense our beloved princess won't always be there to translate for you."

He was speaking in the language that was completely incomprehensible before, now I can fully understand what he was saying in chrystal clarity, like I always knew to speak it.

"Thanks Iktomi, as you were saying." I said, enthusiastic to hear the rest of the story.

"I took his willow hoop along with feathers, beads, and began to spin a web through the hoop using my own silk.

Through each incarnation of our lives, there are many energies and forces at work in the universe, light and dark, hot and cold, good and evil, mutually opposed to each other but both needing the other to exist.

If you follow the good forces and ideas, they will guide you in the right direction, but if you fall into the thrall of the dark forces, they will corrupt you and lead you astray.

All of these forces and directions in our lives can either help or interfere with the fragile harmony and balance with nature, the creator, and all his wonderful teachings… that unfortunately modern man is ever so reluctant to follow."

I tugged at my collar at that one, he made a point earlier about the Black Hills, the ancestral home for both him and his tribe, but I knew I wasn't personally to blame for the mistakes of our past, but I can't help it being a personal attack against me, then again I have a problem with taking things too personally.

"That shaman went on to pass it on to his children, and his children's children, until eventually…it ended up with you."

"So you're saying the dreamcatcher my grandmother gave me was the ORIGINAL dreamcatcher?"

"Well in regards to human usage of dreamweaves, technically yes,"

He pointed a leg at it.

"You see a dreamcatcher, this specific dreamcatcher I personally crafted with my own soul and silk, not only catches and stores dreams, but also ideas and, especially, **memories**."

"Memories?"

"Yes, those little fragments of the past which keep under lock and key in our little noggins of ours."

Iktomi let out a somber sigh, which came as a surprise based on his general affable lightheartedness.

"I find the past such a worrying anxious place,…yes… quite treacherous… one moment you're lost in a carnival of delight, childhood aromas, those precious moments with your family, you're first experience with true love, all that sentimental candy silk."

His voice was becoming increasingly perturbed and sinister.

"The next, I't takes you somewhere you don't want to be…"

He gripped both my shoulders as he met me with his piercing, unshakable gaze.

"Somewhere dark and cold, filled with dark ambiguous shadows and shapes, and things you would rather forget!"

I tried to shake his 2 main appendages off, but he merely gripped tighter in response as he pulled me closer to his mask.

"Memories can be vile, repulsive little brutes…

Like **children** no? mmm hmhmhmhmhmhm."

At that moment, the images raced back to me in a torrent; my headspace suddenly assaulted by flashes of the same vessel I saw in that vision, his empty gaze staring right back at me, longing, suffering, then those same shadowy figures plummeting to their deaths in a dark abyss, an inhuman wraith like metallic scream, and then, a sudden feeling of my stomach being pierced clean through.

With a firm push I managed to get him off me! As he crashed into fell onto the floor as I tried to feel for that nonexistent wound to my abdomen.

"What did you do to him Iktomi!" Hornet demanded an answer as Iktomi slowly got back upright lifting one leg up after another, poised to make an example out of him.

"tsk tsk tsk, oh it's not always about what **I** do, sometimes it's a matter of what **you** do to yourself… or, in this case, what you **have** done."

"You're not making any sense, I thought for a second I was going to die!" I said slightly panicked.

"Iktomi cease this at once, it's not humorous in the slightest!" Hornet raced to my aid as she helped me back up.

"Well I'll give you both time to figure out that certain riddle of mine on your own, I only ever intend to teach, never to harm, in fact I was planning on giving Nolan a charm, poet and didn't know it, that anyone who wishes to learn our ways should have to always be under our protection, but… unfortunately… some little rascal stole it before I could get it back, but knowing I couldn't realistically stand a chance against him, I scurried off as far as I could from Hallownest to focus on managing my new dart board company I started with a few of my colleagues."

"It was little ghost, was it not?" rhetorically asked the princess.

"and now its stuck with him behind that blasted temple vault door! Damn that thieving brat, humph, I thank him for keeping that disgusting orange puss at bay though."

"mmm… well until the time you can craft a new weaversong charm, I am to be training Nolan to be a knight of Deepnest and he requires a nail if he is to begin his weapons drills."

"Didn't you try going to the Nailsmith, I've heard he miraculously resisted the infection and is…"

"Unfortunately I checked, I found his body lying at the bottom of one of the drainage channels in the City of Tears, a nail slash across his backside, cold blooded murder.":

"ohhhhhh…S! #" Iktomi cussed.

"That's too bad because I also checked the back store rooms and it turns out I'm all out of pale ore and any spares I have are way too heavy for him considering his, well, lithe human frame."

I grimaced at his frankness.

"So where am I supposed to get one if I can't get one here!?" my patience finally running out, his flippant dismissive attitude grating on my nerves.

"But until we can somehow manage to find a pale ore deposit in Deepnest, I **do** know of certain someone who is in possession of a nail that would fit you perfectly."

I immediately retracted my anger towards him, glad he didn't just give up on me then and there.

"Really! Where is it!?"

"Inside voice!" Hornet commanded.

"Sorry my princess."

"Ohh it's a simple really, in the queens gardens lies a certain someone I think you are aquainted with all too well, the White lady, she used to be the queen of Hallownest before she lost complete faith in her husband for obvious reasons"

"The old queen is still alive?" I asked.

"speak of the devil acolyte, I met her many times before, but every time, she pretends like she never knew me." hornet said noticeably flustered at the mention of the dame of a now lost kingdom.

"Again… **former** queen… she secluded herself in a chamber as to hide her shame from the world, but at the very least, she has taken her collection of old mementos with her, based on your nature, all you need to do is find her and ask."

"Thanks Iktomi, it may be quite a walk, but if it means becoming a true knight, I'm willing to go the extra mile… literally"

"I will insure that the acolyte learns quickly of the hazards of a garden many years neglected."

"Splended I'll see you all again soon as I am looking forward to showing Nolan the true wonders of our sacred weaving magic"

With him bidding us the best of luck, but not before putting on another long play record as he wound up the player before continuing his work on another project.

" _Steve walks warily down the street with the brim pulled way down low"_

" _Aint no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go."_

We both, as in she carried me upwards at a rapid pace with her thread powers as we made our way through the cavernous maze of Deepnest to a secondary opening, a quick work around from going through those pesky mantises and their jabs.

When I heard the word "garden" I literally expected it be a nice scenic walk with flowers and trees, a nice break from drudging around in the cave system for days.

That wasn't exactly the case here; many of the walls were overgrown with giant thorns and there were these troublesome trap platforms which, unfortunately, Hornet used as a means of training my reflexes as I quickly hopped from one platform to the next, lucky to not have to suffer falling into that stuff as I made it across no problem.

Sheesh, why put me through the hard stuff first.

"You're reflexes and agility is certainly better than I could have anticipated."

That dry observation was probably going to be the closest thing I ever got to a complement from her.

Genuinely impressing this uptight princess is going to prove to be a real challenge above everything else in the place, I couldn't really slam her with the "you never really worked a day in your life!" smack down, I mean that realistically couldn't be further from the case.

In fact, she probably would be the exact kind of person to dedicate most of their free time to honing their craft with these bladed weapons they call "nails" for the sake of protecting whatever was left of what was left of this Hallownest fallen from grace, so there's a certain _noblesse oblige_ in effect here that kept my harsher comments from running out of my big mouth, at least for now at least.

Or.. at least…. That's what I keep telling myself… Mr. " _I don't cow tow to any monarchs!"_

Other than my frustratingly ambivalent attitude towards her, between her surprise "tests", I took the time, as was part of my other job, to take photos of the elegant yet alien architecture and flora.

We also made our selves known to the unexpected inhabitants of the gardens, the talked about traitor lord and his faction of defectors, many of them were in not so good of shape.

The conversation we had with him was short, but I promised him I would show the other 3 the errors of their ways and to accept them back with full amnesty when I win my fight as he personally thanked me with a bow.

At least, I'm confident the princess has a few tricks up her cloak she could show me that would catch them off guard, despite their speed.

After dodging these strange mossy creatures that sprung to and fro off the walls, threating to run into us, we finally made it to the hidden dwelling place of this so called "Pale Lady", the self-exiled former Queen of Hallownest, and the one person that is going to have to answer for a lot that raced through my mind as we walked passed the corpse of what appeared to be her former guard, possibly finally falling prey to whatever other creatures now roam free in this now untamed wilderness.

The knight Hornet told me was one of the mighty 5, Dryaa, fought to the bitter end to defend the beleaguered higher being as we finally entered the cocoon like structure were she dwelled.

The pale lady was a tangled mess of glowing white roots and branches that splayed out and dug through both the floor and ceiling as she had herself in a wrapping or restraint of some sort as her head perked up to welcome her unexpected guests.

"Dear wyrm… is that you…have you finally returned, this second spawn I sent was a resounding success."

I immediately tuned out her words at the mention of "spawn".

"What are you talking about? I'm Nolan burton, an archaeologist sent here to catalogue this lost civilization, and who is this Wyrm guy you're talking about… failed queen?

The tree like higher being seised up in surprise and shock.

"No..how… from all the energies I have sensed, only he possessed that amount of SOUL within his being, the only beings capable of possessing that amount of power could only be other Wyrms or…"

Hornet remained silent, letting me say what needs to be said now that Iktomis translation magic now allowed me to understand what she was saying, albeit coming out in a "queens English" form a of an accent, fitting.

"I'm a human miss, can't you see?" I was deadpan and apathetic to how she would respond.

"A…human?... a terran?!" she seemed unexpectedly worried for someone many times smaller than her.

"...No sorry… I unfortunately cant, I could sense both of your energy signatures, I could easily recognize the other as being the gendered child…but even if you were a son of man as you claim to be, there was also….void…why do you have void inside your being…unless….the _blackwym_ …no this can't be." Her royal composure quickly beginning to slip as Hornet was now taken aback by the sudden revelation she wasn't quite ready to hear yet.

"You have had VOID in you and you this whole time didn't tell me!?" Hornet was trying to lose herself completely to her anger.

"Hornet… I can explain later…Quirrel he…"

"Knows nothing acolyte, this may shock you, I have had void a part of my being sense I was born, I could suspect something was off, but this just confirms it, but that is not what we came here for, but this explains many things!"

She quickly settled back in unsettling awkward silence as the pale lady continued off from the sudden interruption.

"Yes… agreed, this is a most surprising development, I was quite certain that my dear Pale Wyrm's dalliance with the Queen of Deepnest was the only time he bore a child outside our marriage, it was an arrangement I was not at all comfortable with, but there was not cost too great and that beast was desperate for an heir in exchange for her own sacrifice. She just so happens to be standing right next to you right now as we speak."

"Hornet?..."

I asked as she remained silent as she slightly bowed her head in acceptance of this fact as I grew decisively upset at the utterance of the word "beast" as she continued her story.

"But what I see here is something that makes me fear the worst, there was this being, the _blackwyrm_ , that according to legend, was slayed 500 years ago by a lone human prince and banished him back to the void from whence he first became corrupted, but it also speaks of the separate world, a terrible polluted world in which he had already taken over all of the earth, were cruelty and vice were his law.

In that world, the _blackwyrm_ had a dalliance with a cult of female worshippers from which spawned something of which makes me shutter even now, Human/Wyrm hybrids, possessing terrifying amounts of endurance, agility, and speed."

The imagery of what she was saying began to gradually paint itself within my mindscape as I began to shiver.

"They were all bred and raised for one purpose and one alone, to kill the human warrior before he could fulfill his ultimate destiny and slay him, fortunately, before his last surviving daughter could kill the prince, she betrayed her father and brought him back in time to finish what needed to be done and give birth to the world we have before us now."

I stood there patiently listening to the old legend, taking mental notes of it for later as I began to connect 2 and 2 together in my head as I gave a silent nod in acknowledgement.

"So you're saying that the reason I have void steeping inside is because im…"

"half-wyrm?…. It's quite a possibility…the species posseses the astounding ability to have offspring with almost any species, it's the only explaination I can honestly think of that explains such large SOUL reserves, but that still doesn't explain why some other wyrm other than my precious Pale Wyrm had access to the void, and the _Blackwyrm_ was believed long sense slain!"

"So it shall remain an enigma…" I rhetorically quipped, a bit more concerned than before

"Unfortunately the why of your predicament I cannot answer, but I can still help you in your quest."

"Iktomi said you were in possession of a special kind of nail, is that true?" enthused as to finnaly being in possession of one of these elusive weapons myself, some truly impressive I can take home with me.

"Ahh yes, as a matter of fact it was the sword I feel that you should have, as it was that same nail that human warrior used to slay that abomination all those centuries ago, and now as I know it will finally be in the right hands, It would be my honor to have it be yours, fellow warrior."

With that, she snaked one of her free branches behind her and brought out a katana in its sheath, surprisingly unaffected by the flow of time as it was kept in her good care.

Without any further hesitation, I grasped it with both hands as she unfurled it from her vines.

"But I find it ironic that the black wyrm and the pale wyrm weren't so different, using their offspring as means to an end!" Hornet finally spoke up, venom seeping into every word she spoke.

"Those vessels were of your own spawn."

"YOU WHAT!?" I exploded in a rage that came with an unyielding force, The void in my being beginning to broil and shake.

"….it's true… of Wyrm and root, the void hollowed them out, but I held no delusion my mind they were to be any of his heirs, they served their function, and one of them has finally succeeded, for the sake of this kingdom…."

Flashes of those same visceral scenes flashed through my mind, then an inner voice compelled me, louder, louder.

 **Hate.**

 **Pain.**

 **Hurt.**

 **Kill**

Then I was as if my whole being was overwhelmed with its presence, that one inner voice, aligning perfectly with my thoughts in that one moment.

 **KILL!**

"For the fate of this kingdom and the world, There truly was no cost too gr…."

Before I could even realize what just happened, I had unsheathed the sword and made a clean slash clear across her throat, choking for breath before checking that the blade was still in my own grip, the blade covered with her greenish sap like blood.

"You…weren't….wrong…though…" was all the pale lady could croak with the last of her breath before the bright blue light faded from her eyes as she finally allowed herself to pass on and slumping in her binding, her sap like blood still draining from the cut.

Hornet stood there in shock, I eyed the pale lady, and then the blade, I was shaking, sweating, what did I… I never killed anyone before…. What do I… what did I do?

Last I remember was an extreme sense of disgust and hatred, and then blank.

I tried to breathe….breathe….breathe…

I felt a hand on my shoulder as I met turned my head to see Hornet unbothered by this line of events.

"You did what needed to be done acolyte, she just as much of a monster than the vile worm himself, we got what we were looking for, now let's go, that temper of yours could still use some work. Emotions can lead you to make reckless decisions in the heat of battle."

When we made it back to Deepnest, Iktomi managed to weave for me the proper attire befitting of a knight of Deepnest, a black long underwear like under suit with black gloves and a bright red military style overcoat.

My steel toed boots were the only articles of clothing I was allowed to carry over when I changed clothing between her drills and my time chatting with and learning about spider kinds culture and magic from Iktomi, sometimes I would stop by to help Agatha with the weaver kids, and they really liked it when I stopped to visit them from time to time.

I was just expected to fend for myself during the off hours; we would have a blast singing karaoke with each other, the other weavers joining in on occasion.

Luckily given his outside connections, Iktomi was able to provide me with food when my rations ran dry, he may be a bit ornery, but his heart really was in the right place.

The training itself was as intense as it was brutal, even the basic "warm up" exercises she had scheduled had my body cry for me to stop, but every time I was on the ground wanting to just stop while I still could.

But Hornet reminded me that I was to ignore my feelings if I was to ever progress, they were my worst enemy and I was to remained focused on my opponent at all times, and I did just that.

My inner void posed its own problems, but Hornet advised that when it came to combat that I should flow with it rather trying to suppress it as I began to feel my normal human limits I struggled with at the start get numbed by it as even the sharp pain of the shallow cuts of her nail during our sparring bouts all but seemed to fizzle in the back of mind.

Luckily, Deepnest had a SOUL infused hot spring that both healed me from my wounds and gave myself a chance to clean off, albeit I wasn't at all used to **public** bathing, especially in the company of other spiders tired from their hunts who would drop in occasionally, but I learned to ignore the awkwardness as they seemed quite interested in learning about me, where I came from, and what brought me so far out here, as well as the occasional gossip, surprisingly normal people stuff.

Then just as the days were beginning to blur into each other, my training was complete as she finally brought me to the shrine were Queen Herrah rested eternal, forever dreaming for the sake of the good of all.

Its best no to think too deeply into these things…

"Nolan Burton of the far off land of Amar Ik Ah, I have taught you everything I knew that you need to vanquish our enemies in this land and beyond, may you serve Deepnest with valor, faith, strength, and loyalty, in the name of my mother Queen Herrah, goddess of this realm, I hereby dub you Sir Burton, the _**Spider Knight**_!"

After she dubbed me with one pat on each shoulder from her needle nail as stood and bowed before the "resting" body of Queen Herrah and then turned to all those in attendance as I ceremoniously drew my sword to salute the heavens as the crowd cheered as a I equipped the weaversong charm as several the young weaver spiders I grew to know personally spawned around me.

"Mantis lords, your days of being the unstoppable sisters of battle will soon be at an end and I will redeem this people who refuse to be tamed by the likes of you!"


	6. Two Tribes

Chap 6: Two Tribes

The dubbing ceremony was over, and just like that, I was a knight.

I was still mulling over whether I should be addressed as Sir, Doctor...Sir doctor?... I don't even know, I feel that, despite me feeling more than accomplished after everything I have been through, I can't help but feel I created a conflict of interest by not thinking things through on everything that comes with said title, including the upcoming battle with the mantis lords that we both promised that I would win.

Thankfully, I was given one more night to reflect on what I already learned, as well as to get a full restorative rest before I could make it known to those conceited lords, whom I still hate with burning passion for their haughty sense of entitlement, that I was no longer that hapless impulsive showoff with a big mouth they made me out to be, now I can walk the walk.

It took many weeks for my brutal sparring and training sessions with Hornet on the almost sacral art of the nail, learning the forms, and bringing out a truly dignified and knightly character I didn't even knew I really had at the time, but we are all poor judges of our own character.

My time in the Naval ROTC only taught me how to be an officer, nothing more, and nothing less.

I was just another officer among many, despite my time serving a few years as a culinary officer on a relatively large destroyer; I couldn't help but shake off that one nagging feeling that no matter how well I did my job, and regardless of how passionate I was to share my improvised recipes with the crew despite the captains insistence I do everything by the cookbook, that I could have been easily replaced.

It encouraged me to try harder, to do more, all do to set myself apart, to make myself feel like I was personally needed there.

None of it worked.

It was a short tour, a good 4 years eventually making my way up to captain of a light cruiser stationed in the Gulf…..

of Mexico.

Well I was stationed on a few isolated islands in the pacific, but my experience was otherwise uneventful.

When I haplessly stumbled upon this land, at first I was eager to just collect whatever data I could and get out, leaving room for future researchers to fill in the gaps.

The void inside me was now making its presence known in a way that just simply could not be ignored anymore.

Occasionally, during the high stress of training with Hornet, black fissures formed on random spots on my skin, thankfully subsiding when given the time to calm down, but each flare up was becoming more and more pronounced than the last, the void desperate to make its way to the surface.

Based on this, it has now probably made its way into my bloodstream and spreading quickly to other areas of my body.

The thought of getting it surgically removed like Quirrel promised has proved to be impossibility, so the best I can hope for is for the void to "even out" as it spreads, but even that is being optimistic, the streaks of black on my otherwise amber brown irises consistently reminding me of its progress, the vomiting has thankfully stopped though.

Hornet taught me how to use it to my advantage given its regenerative energizing properties, despite it posing a myriad of other problems, including increased aggression and irritability, but it was nothing Iktomi's focusing technique couldn't otherwise mitigate.

Other than the void problem, my perspective on Deepnest as a whole slowly began to shift, and the moment the two pats were made on my shoulders, I knew, for the first time in my life that I was their **only** knight, personally chosen by the princess, with a great responsibility resting on my shoulders.

I was truly needed, a person who was truly indispensable, a man to revered and respected, out of many **one**!

They were relying on me to be at my best and to conquer those prudes that kept most of spider kind hemmed in behind that odious stone gate.

Deepnest's dreams of expansion to provide ample living room for its subjects was forever stolen in a treaty made behind their backs between the Lords of the mantis tribe and The Pale King some many years ago, while giving Queen Herrah virtually no say in the agreement.

As if they, no, **we** are common beasts?!

I looked out the window to see the homes of the spiders dangling from the cave ceiling, well secured with many strands of their natural borne silk.

After all my time spent in Deepnest's, I have seen nothing but a civility and intelligence that rivals even the most educated amongst us human beings.

Deepnest's emphasis on self-reliance resonated especially well with me, given so much of how my own countries culture revolved around such rugged individualism, so fitting in was a synch and assimilation was never a real issue.

Iktomi, the master weaver himself, demonstrated perfectly his exceptional level of practical knowledge, as well as having a firm grasp on even the most advanced of philosophical concepts.

He even claimed to have met all the great philosophers of history personally, something of which I highly doubt given his tendency to stretch the truth.

He even showed a device that allowed someone to record sound on silk, it worked in a way similar to that of a 1940's wire recorder, and it turns out the sound quality was far better due to spider silks naturally higher tensile strength that simple steel or aluminum wire.

Because of this, it ever risked fraying or snapping like our attempts at it.

He said it hardly caught on with Deepnests older generation with the exception of business related reasons, he even showed me a recording queen Herrah made herself.

" _If anyone Is hearing this, I have made I clear to declare this sound imprint in the name of posterity for anyone who is authorized."_

I was surprised Iktomi even had a recording of Herrah, let alone the fact that she ever used one, but perhaps she decided it would be a better medium to record a rather important message other than the risk of moisture destroying anything written on normal silk parchment.

" _It has come to my attention that in the name of saving this land from the rigors of the infection, that I will be, for the salvation of all, giving myself as a dreamer in order to aid in the containment effort."_

Contrary from the voice I would come to expect from such a large spider, her voice was surprisingly smooth and calming, I assume she would have had a more commanding regal tone when she held court, but I can understand that most of that is for show.

" _Hornet, my precious daughter, and future ruler of Deepnest, realize that even as I go to sleep, I will always be there to guide you in spirit and in your very dreams, farewell my loyal subjects."_

With a crackle of the speaker, the recording ended abruptly.

"It just makes you wonder, being a queen of this supposed dark realm, in the end, she really did have a heart for her people." I mused somberly, holding myself back from getting too worked up at such a beautiful final address.

"She really was dedicated to her people from beginning to end Nolan and, in the end, that's a monarch at its best, but we need to let go and move on, I have other things to show you." the master weaver said as he offered a conciliatory pat on my right shoulder as he showed me a smaller version of the device as he tried to switch to a more positive topic.

"A portable version of the device was on the rage with the youth in both Deepnest and Hallownest before the fall, using it to distribute music The Pale King considered "fostered feelings of disobedience and rebellion, it was in fact inspired by the transmissions we received from the outside, completely unauthorized of course, didn't really stop any of us oh ho ho what fun. "

The master weavers mention of the music's apparent troublesome nature made my mind instantly run towards that one obvious overdriven, fast paced genre, a loud voice for the unheard, were a person's deepest desires and opinions were on full display.

ROCK.

"One of the most popular of those late era songs was _Shining Crown_ by an underground music group known as Tik-Tik Tok, the miner bugs loved signing it while they were mining up by crystal peak."

Iktomi then switched out the silken reels and played the song in question as the reels began to spin up.

As I could have guessed, it had an sound that was eerily similar to early 60's era rock music crossed with a few metal motifs, but with an added twist of it being as if the Beach Boys got mashed together with a heavy dash of Slayer with the visceral rough operatic vocals reminiscent of Dio and metallica surfing the rhythm of the fast paced strumming of the guitar, the lack of electricity would have made amplification an issue, but perhaps they used some form of SOUL magic to alter the sound in some fashion or another to carry the sound.

" _Ohh, bury the knight with her broken nail,_

 _Bury the lady, lovely and pale,_

 _Bury the preist in his tattered gown,_

 _Then bury the beggar with his shining crooown!_

 _His shining crown!_

 _HIS SHININING…CROOOOWN!_

"

With a big crash, the song came to an abrupt end .

"Having multiple arms can make you an apt drummer, that's for sure, no need for much practice he he he." Iktomi commented, humorously as usual.

You could instantly tell that the old man of a king wasn't wrong in the makers of this music wanting him and his wife dead.

It further confirmed my feelings that there was a rising feeling of discontent amongst the worker bugs before the fall, possibly over his excessive taxation and lack of civil rights.

"The later period before the fall was rife with political turmoil.

Even before the infection took off, a growing counterculture of working caste bugs were becoming increasingly fed up with the rampant corruption, inequality, and abuses of power by the noble caste and for GOOD reason."

I couldn't help but give a self-assured smirk, of course the common people wouldn't just lie down and let these unelected aristocrats walk all over them, had the infection not taken place, who knows how long the King and his Nobles would have lasted before getting theirs head stuck in the guillotine.

What I found especially frustrating was the fact that Quriell actually LIKES that guy? I have decided I would just give him the benefit of the doubt, being an assistant scholar to Monomon back at the royal archives, he was probably well insulated from the strife and hardship that plagued the not so well off areas of Hallownest, and was instead sold on the "authorized" versions of events from the royal press.

I have to admit, he was a gullible and naive, he means well though and he certainly is rather smart given the circumstances.

That being said, I really did owe him an apology for snapping at him earlier, could have handled that situation a whole lot better than shouting him down sanctimoniously, same goes to the mosquito couple.

Still lying awake in my bed, I continued to reflect on the events of the past couple of months, continuing to observe the soft blue glow of the lumaflies as they danced in circles within the glass sphere.

Not quite ready to go to sleep just yet, I began to put into question my own actions.

I felt a pang of hypocrisy pierce my conscience; I initially had no qualms about becoming a knight, it seemed so enticing, so "necessary" at first, but over time the reality set in.

A knight would have been the exact kind of person whose job it is was to enforce the rulings of said nobles, REGARDLESS of his or her personal opinions on them, a merciless enforcer.

Yet here I am, a knight of a princess, how I even surprised myself on just why I agreed to this.

No, just because I have a fancy title, and FANCY the title, never meant I was required to leave my democratic sympathies on the backburner, this was just so I could win the respect of the mantis lords to gain access to their records, and when I'm done with them, I'll honorably resign, or at least I thought it would be that simple as just putting on a little act and running, nothing of substance in this life is that simple, so I didn't really know.

Other than that, I had mixed feelings the entire time I trained with her, Deepnest itself was as far from constitutional as a monarchy could possibly get, they would rather follow the authority of a long dead queen than even suggest at having a say themselves.

Despite their best intentions to make sure I was comfortable, even Hornet in her own awkward way, it just never quite felt right to me, it was albeit, a bit antiquated.

I may have tried my best to stay positive, to give a good first impression, but that feeling of betraying myself and everything I stood for still irked me.

When I spoke privately with Iktomi on the matter, he agreed with my sentiment that if Hornet wouldn't adopt liberal reforms upon becoming Queen, Hallownest would be doomed to repeat the same mistakes of its tragic past.

I also asked, as politely as I could, why she couldn't have crowned herself queen now, and he merely told me I will get the answer for that question at the appropriate time.

Besides that, him and I both agreed that it's best for the time being I kept my mouth shut on said matters until a proper time, and to be honest, I wouldn't just be committing insulting her authority, I would be insulting her very own mother!

I tried to get my mind on more pleasant things as I had my time to shine come tomorrow morning, but the track I was on in my mind's eye wouldn't budge one bit.

I learned just how much her mother means to her when I finally made it back to the beasts den late at night after a late night game of poker with Iktomi and a couple of his weaver colleagues.

I heard her in distress as I rushed to scene as the door to her room was left wide open.

Her mask was put off to the side, but it was still hard to make out her real face given the darkness of the room and I was afraid of getting any closer.

She was in bed, tossing and turning as she was hyperventilating in her sleep, sometimes jerking violently at unexpected intervals.

She was having a nightmare, a really bad one at that!

I… couldn't just have left her like that, but what else could I do, I couldn't wake her up, she would be furious at the fact I trespassed into her room.

My dream catcher glowing, promising me a glimpse into her own mind, seeing if it would allow me to help her in her dream, I agreed to its suggestion.

The scene was as vivid as she would have seen it as I hid behind a nearby pillar.

"MOTHER LOOK OUT!" Hornet screamed a futile warning as I't was already too late as the giant worm like beast devoured Herrah whole with a sickening series of crunches.

I was horribly, horribly wrong; there was nothing I could do, not in this state.

Before I could fully comprehend the horror before my eyes, the scene flashed to white as I was back in her room.

"Mother…." a crying whimper escaped her mouth as she continued to writhe and twist in her sleep.

I had to go… the least I could do was not get caught seeing her like this.

The most shocking moment of this episode began when I just started walking cautiously down the hall towards my room.

"Nolan…no…run…."

She couldn't have heard me, no, based on her muffled pleas, she was still fast asleep, but I wasn't in that dre…

Then my heart sank upon realizing that I actually was in the dream, the dreamcatcher possibly only allowing me into her dream via taking control of my OWN dream self.

I was glad I "un-plugged" when I did, because I could have only been met with the gruesome fate as her mother before waking up passed out on the floor.

But what really surprised me was how I was in her dream at all and how she….

It was that one tragic night that made me realize that I was far more to her than just some mere tool.

Despite my preconceived notions about her, she really did have a heart behind that regal façade, albeit a sickly and broken one.

Looking strong and unmovable, unflinching under pressure, giving her subjects and others like them a sense of reassurance and hope.

But I can see now that perhaps it's not just the mantises that have been harassing Deepnest for far too long, I have come to realize that I had to protect her from the one thing that would probably sneak up on her an snatch her away before it was too late.

 **herself.**

Who knows how long she has been having those night terrors, how many nights she spent in the agony of her own mindscape.

Who's to say she has it under control at all, will there just come a time when she just decided she couldn't….. take it anymore?

For all this time I thought I could have just played the part for a day and get on with my original mission, to access the mantis archives and move on from there using the training she gave me, but of course, things are rarely that simple.

A faint shard of my own past lodged itself into my heart at that moment.

" _I mean, you're a real acolyte and we don't want to see you leave, and and and you're so nice."_

Followed by another, this one far more personal and visceral.

" _mommy, whens daddy coming home?"_

…

It was all too much; I just couldn't leave her, not like this state, not right now. She was strong, but far from invincible.

This incident also provoked my earlier questions on why she would offer to train me as a knight so readily, but I came to realize the most obvious answer; it's a dangerous land out there, and it would make sense that my gun, still anathema around these parts, wouldn't be able to protect me against everything that came my way.

As the mantis lords proved with their lightning reflexes and speed, I had to be stronger, a lot stronger if I was to survive out there, and 7mm worth of lead isn't just going to cut it.

From that day forward, while I was on the brink of calling it quits and heading home, I made up my mind that, for her sake, I would go through with the training, many people back home would have never expected me to be gone this long, all of them thinking I was either missing or dead, all of them probably presuming I was dead by now, not that most of them cared for me to begin with, my mother being an exception.

Other than that, I may have not have accounted for how long I would be down here, but the lost time will be worth it when I finally astound them with my account of this land long forgotten and its inhabitants long sense lost and would overlook how long I have left them worried for my life and possibly searching for me; but other than that, I have all time in the world to explore this land to its fullest.

I turned my minds attention towards counting sheep as I finally drifted off to sleep.

Just as many times before, I was met with a feeling that I was floating, I bright orange light, and a soft spoken yet booming female voice, each time it happened, the dream became more and more distinct and detailed, all of them detailing how I must retrieve a certain "kings brand" and how she was "trapped".

For so long I tried ignoring the voice every time I woke up, passing it off as nonsense, but with each passing night, the message beginning to make more and more sense, like my mind was slowly piecing together a rather complex 3 dimensional 500 piece puzzle.

But this specific night was different than the others; this time the voice became close enough that I actually got to see the culprit.

There she was, slowly floating towards me from the main source of light, casting a subtle silhouette as she came into view.

There in the distance loomed a golden moth a good few times my own size, its golden glow almost blinding before shrinking down into a form that was more at my height, the prongs on her head making the visage of a crown as her wings morphed into an elegant electrum colored robe with a rather luscious tuft of white fur that went around the top of it, the robe itself, sparkling as if it was glittered with gold dust, was accented with long silvery feathers that trailed unto the floor.

The glow in her eyes subsided to reveal the teal irises the lied underneath, seamless golden blonde hair curling slightly at its ends.

The bright blinding light quickly subsided, and in a voice that seemed to echo through the realm of dreams, she spoke.

" _I understand that I might have taken quite a while to gradually work my way past the comprehensive array of wards before being able to speak to you in person, that weaver has proved to be quite the expert in protecting his devices from intrusion, but it was nothing I could have eventually overcome with the sheer force of my light."_

I could only float there, staring in disbelief at the character that worked well over the course of 2 months just to reach me.

" _I thought that I should assume a form you would feel more comfortable conversing with, as I know for a fact that the radiant power exuded by my true form would most likely shock you awake, is this to your liking?"_

I opened my mouth to test that I could still speak.

"Y…yes, you look great, although… I still don't know who you are, were you the one trying to speak to me this whole time?"

My voice was echoing like hers in this bizarre dream realm just like hers as a floor manifested beneath us as we both settled on the new surface.

" _Ahh that would be correct young one, and now those we can finally talk face to face, I feel that a formal introduction is in order."_

Her sophisticated manner of speech denoted a modicum of high social standing and authority, based on her earlier comments, her magic would have to exceed that of Iktomi himself if she could breach the dreamcatchers "firewall".

She outstretched her arms in a show of prowess.

" _I am the radiance, the old light of this land, and the rightful ruler of Hallownest! As the rightful sovereign, I beseech you to aid me in my time of need, for they are fools for daring to contain me."_

"…you…but you are…"

She merely gave off a small laugh.

" _Indeed, that Pale fool thought that he could trap me in a supposedly empty mind, does he realize that the world of dreams will and always will be my domain, my light shall never be consumed!"_

I got into a cautionary stance, unsure if I should fight or run, not that there was any place to run in this dream, or if I even could fight back.

" _Nolan…"_ she sighed sentimentally, a bit shocked that she instantly knew my name.

" _I already can see into your mind, and all I see is a man who from his heart goes above and beyond to do what is right, but it's such a shame you were naïve enough for them to convince you I was somehow a threat."_

The Radiance had a point, I barely knew anything about her beyond the conversations had with Qurriel and later, Iktomi and Hornet, only going so far as a saying the light being contained at all cost.

" _It's obvious why they never told you the full story, they realize a man of such strong character would come to realize the truth eventually, I WAS the original and righteous ruler of Hallownest, the people were blissful and content, but that vile Wyrm betrayed me and now here I am, using your dreamcatcher as a bridge between my ever so porous prison and your mind. To think he would be so heartless as to send a 10 year old child to contain me!"_

At this I bowed my head.

"Miss, I don't think I wa…"

She cut me off as she continued to skim through my memories, her words spiced with sympathy.

" _Nolan… I understand that were you come from, you have long sense moved past your own monarchies towards a system of common suffrage, I mean no offence when I say this, but I am immune to the corruption that has seized the minds of many of earths common tyrants and I truly am the best and only hope for the scars desolated kingdom has of finally healing and entering a new golden age of peace and prosperity… mind the unintentional pun."_

I laughed a little at her unintentional joke, glad that she could add some levity to this situation when I was feeling a bit intimidated.

"So what do you want me to do? You said something about a king's brand?"

" _Exactly, and you are only a few minutes from waking so I shall make this quick, at the far eastern edge of this kingdom, and a good ways up in the snowcapped eastern mountains of this kingdoms edge, lies the discarded shell of the Wyrm's old form, there you will find his brand, with it you would finally be able to unseal the black egg temple for the final time."_

She came closer and grabbed one of my hands sympathetically, looking pleadingly into my eyes.

" _Now this last part may trouble you, but in order to undue the final seal and once again set me free... "_

"I understand…"

" _It is ultimately up to you, but what does the gendered child have to offer other than to repeat the same mistakes as her father given her already proven impulsive streak.."_

She made that point all too compelling.

" _Now go and do what you must, but remember I will be waiting for you once you again fall asleep, go along with what she tasked you to do so until a ripe opportunity presents itself, and don't, under any circumstances, disclose this conversation to anyone."_

"Wait… her father!?"

Just like that, with a flash of light, I woke up into the always perpetually dark room, my mind still confused as to whether it was truly day time or not.

It's not like I have no reason not to trust her, I don't know, I might need to do some more thinking about it, it's something that if Hornet if even caught a slight hint of what I was doing behind her back, she would probably instantly know something was up.

If they did manage to find out her means of bypassing containment, they would confiscate my dreamcatcher and destroy it, even if it means no longer being free from the ravages of my old nightmares, those horribly vivid nightmares, but that's a sacrifice they are willing to make to stop the radiance from escaping.

But it was strange; she didn't at all seem aggressive or malicious...in fact she seemed quite… kind… and modest; a beautiful goddess of golden light, her radiant and graceful charm was almost… infectious.

Why wouldn't anyone want to free her? How could she possibly be evil? Something even as simple as just recalling her in my mind's eye just made me feel so warm, content, and comfortable.

Looking around, I saw something perched on my work desk and well-lit with candles that made my eyes light up in glee.

"How did he know my favorite?"

Iktomi was always an expert in finding food I could eat, even if the next town over was a good 100 miles away, how he manages to get around so fast still being left unanswered.

It was a classic breakfast platter of hot cakes, eggs and bacon, a perfect meal fit for a man from the upper Midwest, and perfect for the big challenge that lies ahead as I savored every bite.

After finishing my meal it seemed to magically poof away, Iktomi was possibly thinking ahead of time of what to do with dirty dishes, possibly sent back to his mansion.

Being fully fed and my base hygiene done, I put on my "knightly' attire that was neatly folded and laid out for me.

Strange, I could almost feel a slight buzzing sensation in the fabric, most likely being the protective armor incantation primed and ready to go.

Lastly, not wanting to forget, I equipped my gifted Weaversong charm as a trio of weaverlings, on que, appeared in small flashes of light, wiping their eyes as the summoning most likely woke them up from their sleep, each letting out a small chirrup before looking at the culprit.

"Oh hey Nolan, is it the big day already, oh man I'm just about as excited as you are!" the first one was almost shaking with giddiness.

"Oh man, I can't wait to bite those mantis butts." the second one added as all 3 laughed.

"Yeah, they don't expect Nolan to have kickass backup on his side." the third kid chimed in flexing one of his appendages like an imaginary bicep, forcing a deeper laugh out of everyone in the room.

"Alright guys get it together, we got a big fight ahead of us and we don't want to keep princess Hornet waiting."

"Yep!" they said almost in unison, all 3 skittering behind me as we made our way to the main hall as Hornet, Iktomi, and a small group of other spiders gathered around to greet me and the trio gave Hornet a bow of respect.

"…and so the day has finally arrived, they are going to regret ever thinking i was anything but a warrior at heart."

Iktomi walked behind me and fitted a reddish maroon cape as a finishing touch.

"To be honest, even with just the basics out of the way, Hornet taught you their attack patterns and how to counteract them with ease, so it will be easier than you think Nolan, I guarantee it, just remember your training and focus on what's in front of you, don't panic, and leave the prospect of getting hit at the back of your mind and maintain a constant offence."

Iktomi reached behind my ear "what's this."

With a slight of hand, he pulled his hand away from my ear to reveal it to be holding a pristine ivory mask.

"I do believe this is yours, go ahead try it on, consider it a symbol of our kinship.".

With that final bit of coaching Iktomi scurried back to the observing crowd, the mask was a simple design with 2 main holes for looking through as well as 2 extra pairs of painted on eyes to make it look like I was viewing the world through 6.

I secured the clasps behind my head as I realized how surprisingly comfortable it was on my face, and my line of sight wasn't at all impaired saved for a bit of my peripheral vision.

It's almost like I wasn't wearing it at all.

"Just make sure to ration your thread."

"I understand Iktomi"

"and I modified your nail when you weren't looking."

At this I looked down to see that my weapon was repainted and had an extra blade attached to the other end.

"If you throw it like a Frisbee it automatically returns to your hand, You could my modifications are of the utmost cutting edge. Oh hehehehe."

That pun was terrible, but still made me exhale through my nose.

Hornet placed a hand on my shoulder and gave a gesture of encouragement.

"Now, shall we begin our trek to your first bout Sir Burton?"

With a graceful twirl she made her way out of den with me and the ever fidgety and jumpy weaverlings following close behind as we trotted casually through the tunnels towards that village that made a mockery of me the first time we passed through.

The mantises were complacent in their beliefs that the spiders were nothing more than "inferior beasts" to be kept in abject apartied after the kings attempts at "civilizing" them have failed.

The cave didn't seem as dark as last time, my eyes becoming well-adjusted to the low light environment, either that or the void was beginning to aid in my night vision, whatever the case, I gladly wasn't finding myself tripping over the smallest of divots in the cave floor.

"Let this be the day we show them that they were mere fools all along for underestimating Deepnest, we were never afraid, we were only biding our time for just the right moment, and now there couldn't possibly a better time than any to strike back at the heart of their misplaced pride."

"I couldn't agree more my princess…" I trailed a bit at the last bit, still feeling a bit awkward, but I

"Please…Nolan….it is only us, you may call me Hornet, I'm not really that fond of titles, I have spent most of my life without one, only taking pride in my duty, attention to formalities never really bothered me in the slightest, but it's merely tradition we keep up those frivolous theatrics in court, despite me being quite annoyed by it."

I was a bit shocked at her ambivalent tone.

"But Hornet, you're a princess, what women wouldn't want t…."

She cut me off as I began to show my egalitarian tendencies as she was quick to correct my supposed error in judgement.

"The people only see what they want to see, I have to make tough decisions that it's best that they shouldn't be troubled with the details."

"…So does that mean you feel yourself born to lead?"

My blasted foot in mouth got to me again as she stopped dead cold in her tracks as one of the kids tugged my cape as I looked down towards as he pointed at the Weaversong charm, obviously not wanting to be there when hornet turned around.

I complied and took it off, keeping them safe from her wrath as she turned around as she put herself into a slightly hunched over and wide defensive stance, offering me a bone chilling stare that threatened to pierce my heart with a razor sharp dagger.

"I WAS BORN TO FIGHT, ALL MY LIFE I WAS FIGHTING!"

"Hornet please, I didn't meant to" I said desperately trying to calm her down, to no avail as I was shaking in my boots, If I wasn't well hardened by this point I would have broken down crying begging her not to kill me.

"SILENCE! Did you think it prudent now that you would now begin to ask me these hard questions? That you think I would just wilt like a flower at the slightest provocation! What leader would that make me then?!"

She almost seemed to loom over me in her indignation.

"You think you have it rough, that you feel cheated?! You don't know anything! I spent the majority of my life fending for myself, hunting my own food, honing my own craft with my needle nail, scouting out all the pitfalls, single handedly protecting whatever pathetic ruins were left in this place, only for my little ghost to sacrifice himself so I didn't have to waste my life clinging to a past I resented!

My father… no… that man was never my father, and I rarely got to see my own mother."

There was nothing I could say that could have possibly consoled her, my life resonating with similar notes.

"I was elated to take up the mantle, that man took everything from us, and it is my sworn duty to lead them into a brighter future, a future without that treacherous Wyrm!"

I went completely silent, resigned to the fact she was probably the only person remotely qualified left to lead them, Iktomi was obviously far untrustworthy and the other weavers seemed to be doing just fine living normal lives.

As for me, I may have minored in political science, but I don't consider myself brave enough for politics and they would scoff at my idea of everyone being given a vote.

I'm like an American Nick Harvey.

"Hornet I didn't mean to make you so upset. Please calm down."

"No…no it's…"

She sighed as she relaxed.

"It's alright Nolan, I understand you probably never intended any disrespect, nor have I."

With that she turned around and got back into her proper upright stance, restoring her previous regal aura.

"But let us leave that sudden outburst behind us, you have a job to do today, just stay close and keep me safe while were on route, who knows what assassins they might have sent to sabotage our efforts."

"Yes madam." I said automatically as we continued our walk through the tunnel towards the main gate.

Being cooped up down here for 2 months, I began to realize the actual effects of my extended stay down there, whatever skin was exposed seemed to have its outer layer of ice melt off and my eyes were blinding for as second before taking a while to readjust as I groaned in slight irritation.

I might have gotten a bit too used to the dark.

Even with all the evidence that I now presented a serious threat to them, they still looked down on me condescendingly the same as when I first encountered them.

"Oh and what do we have here, Hornets own little knight, how quaint." Novara chimed. Iktomi's translation magic making it sounds like they were speaking distinctly German accents.

For some strange reason, it fits.

"Oh yah, you are certainly the best Deepnest has to offer, did you think dressing up was going to impress us little man?" Scerri added sarcastically as they all giggled.

Almost instantly, I began to grit my teeth, luckily the mask denied them the satisfaction of seeing my response.

"Stop it!" I spat out as flatly as I could, not letting them see my anger.

"Ahh come now, we need to give Hornet some credit" the third one chimed.

"After all, she probably taught him how to be a good little boy hmm."

I fumed at this.

"Oh yes, and she probably fed you the sweetest treats mhmhmhmhm"

All three laughed as they didn't waste a moment in trying their best to demoralize me right at the onset.

A part of me regrets stepping foot back into their domain, how dare they talk to me like this.

"Oh don't worry, we promise we'll treat you well too if you promise to be our good little boy, you can start by surrendering right now before someone gets badly hurt."

"Don't let them get to you Sir Nolan Burton of Deepnest."

Surprised, I turned to face the source of the voice at it was none other than Iktomi along with a small crowd of other spiders who came to watch, including the 3 weaver kids I abruptly sent home earlier.

What I found quite peculiar though was Iktomi wearing a drinking cap and a "number 1" fitted to one of his appendages as his waved it around proudly.

A bit tacky, but I appreciate having a supportive group of fans.

"Show them whose boss!" one of the kids shouted.

"YEAHH!" followed the others as they wooed.

Remembering my reason for being here, I proceed to ignore their dismissive laughter as I went on to lay out the terms.

"Mantis lords, first I would like to say that the situation in Deepnest is bleak, cut off from the rest of Hallownest, our people have been wracked with starvation and poverty, food is always scarce in these dark catacombs, and these proud people are left with no means of escape without being met with your swift and unjust retaliation, neglecting the great sacrifice our queen has made to save Hallownest from certain destruction, as well as the gift she has bestowed for us to cherish."

Hornet motioned a bit at the part that mentioned her; still afraid of showing her true feelings, everyone could tell she was deeply moved.

"This being said, if you truly care for the future prosperity and survival of ALL of Hallownest, and to be blessed with the knowledge and magic that is the envy of the world, I politely ask that you open this gate!"

As soon as my speech ended, the room was filled with the thunderous cheers and applause, with the exception of hornet, who kept her repose.

"VERRUKT!" shouted Novara as she slammed her right fist down onto her thrones arms before standing straight up.

"You think you can start making demands before we even start! How dare you! That gate shall remain closed!"

A dismissive wave denoted an end to any further discussion.

"Well imagine my shock!"

"Shall we?" Mantis lord Scerri stated flatly.

"Let's get this over with" With that I began with violently spinning the blade around me as a sign of me being a serious threat.

They didn't back off as the cage descended as the all jumped off their thrones in unison as the fight commenced in a seemingly choreographed flurry of flying strikes and jabs as I oriented to block each and every single one.

There were many noticeable advantages with Iktomi's, modifications.

There was no way I could meet them in the air, going after one could leave me open for an attack from another as I lept out of the way of another of their strikes, looking to score first blood.

I maintained my well drilled technique throughout all of it, keeping my flow as I followed each parry with a rapid turnaround and slash they were just barely able to jump away from, the speed of my strikes was something they found themselves somewhat unprepared for, but still not fast enough to score a definitive hit, frustratingly enough.

I had to stay calm, to panic in this situation would leave them 1 second to many to exploit an opening as I miraculously blocked all three of their strikes at once with a thunderous 3 note clang, one of the blades barely grazing the tip of my hair as a few strands were cut clean off.

With a mighty push, I caused them to stagger back before jumping to the sides of the cage to try attacking from another angle.

I had to think fast, despite my peak physical condition, even with the inner void propping up my endurance and buffing my response time, my muscles and bones still had a limit to how much stress they could handle before the lack of oxygen began to make everything go numb, and they made it quite clear they weren't giving me a moment reprieve in their constant onslaught.

Realizing they were going back up the cage walls, I realized they were going to try the same maneuver again, hoping I was too tired to try anything drastic.

Big mistake on their part, they ought to know the definition of insanity by now.

Even bigger mistake was stopping to speak.

"We give you one last chance to yield terran, you are clearly at the end of your breath I can see it from here, you will be spared, but remember that the old terms of our agreement still stand."

Remembering those same terms they made a few months back, I found it to be nothing short of unacceptable as I gagged at even the mere concept, it was beyond humiliating.

"I would never trade my freedom for anything, even If it meant my own life!" I shouted triumphantly, letting them know that this fight was all or nothing.

"Then you will DIE for your arrogance!"

And with a firm leap, they all careened towards were I stood, all three racing to skewer me alive.

This was the perfect time to spring my little trap.

I leaped out of the way at the last second, and with a focusing of my SOUL, I began to surround the trio with stands upon strands of silk, swiftly pulling it all tight around the trio as they were all pulled together and dropping their nail lances as they tripped over themselves in an undignified fashion.

"UGHH what is the meaning of this!?" Novarra was pissed, probably not the only one beating herself up on their complete lack of foresight.

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how easy that was to pull off as I walked up to them as they tried fruitlessly to break free despite all their strength, a completely humiliating position to be in I'm sure.

"Whelp, looks like I win, and without a single drop of blood spilled, this fight couldn't have gone any better if I do say so myself."

They continued to squirm fruitlessly, their frustration was beyond apparent as their subject to only look onto the situation in embarrassment as they saw their once proud lords taken hostage by the hands of something so beneath them.

"I guess sense you are at my mercy, I should state my demands in return for your release, if you refuse to comply, I shall strike you down were you stand."

I had to admit the last part was a bit harsh, but it was necessary to make sure they took me very seriously, despite their teasing, I really never felt like killing anyone, not if they stood any further threat, what did I have to prove striking them down beyond a cheap barbaric point.

I'm not like them, nor did I ever want to be, they needed a chance to learn.

The cage lifted and the spikes lowered as it was apparent the fight was over as the crowd from Deepnest cheered in delight at such a triumph, ecstatic at my tremendous ingenuity displayed at what seemed like the very last second.

Hornet was speechless.

"WOOOAHHH, That a boy Nolan, let them all know I taught you that one!" Iktomi could have been happier in his whole life, capturing them in a snare of silk like a true spider.

"First things first, I and the rest of the honorable denizens of Deepnest shall be forever accepted as equals and the gate shall remain open."

They looked at each other, all equally humiliated, as they decided who was going to speak on their behalf for the negotiations, Novarra obliged…. Albeit begrudgingly.

"Agreed"

"Your tribe shall remain independent, and in exchange we shall have safe passage through your domain."

"augh...agreed."

"Due to my original motives for coming here, I shall have unrestricted access to your tribes archives for the sake of cataloguing for academic use"

"Agreed."

"and lastly, your brother will be granted full amnesty and his seat restored"

We will offer him a seat…. But we will not grant him the rank of…

"AHEM!"

"Err… yes… agreed… he shall grant him and his followers full amnesty and his lordship restored!"

"Promise?"

"Yes."

"Swear on your lives?" I pointed the front blade at her face to drive the point home.

"Yes! We are an honorable people and we stand by our words, now untie us."

"Oh, but you forgot to say one thing."

They groaned.

"Please!"

The spiders and I laughed a bit at that and prompted death glares from the mantis onlookers.

"I think you got a good taste of your own medicine, I see no problem in letting you go."

With that, upon cutting off their silken restraints, they immediately jumped back to their thrones, thankful to not be in that position any longer.

"I will admit, you fought with both valor and wit and came out victorious and because of that, you have our respect, promise that you will respect our customs and you shall encounter no further problems."

"I always do my best and you too honestly had me on the ropes for a few moments. It was an honor to fight you!"

At that we all gave our bows of respect as I met up with Ikotmi, Hornet, the weaver kids began to crawl all over me in their excitement as other onlookers continued to cheer.

Even though I'm used to their company, that sensation still sends shivers down my spine.

"YOU DID IT, YOU DID IT!" shouted one.

"THAT WAS SO AWESOME!" shouted another.

Hornet stomped her foot down as the kids got off me and calmed down.

"Nolan, This day will forever be the day spider-kind inherited the whole of Hallownest, for that I and this now expanded kingdom is now forever grateful for your exploit!"

"Thank you my liege." I said a bit jokingly, still after these months; still find royal addresses rather silly.

She gripped my hand and, despite still wearing my mask, seemed to be staring right into my somewhat tired eyes.

"Nolan, you do not realize just how much this means to me, never would my mother ever dream that we would have overcame the forces to the east, but you changed that, you gave us hope, a real future in which we no longer have to live in fear and darkness.

Nolan?"

"Yes Hornet?"

"There's was not a moment lost were I didn't fear for your fate, every clash had me shaking, hoping each and every single time the blades clashed not one would hit you. Because you are more than just my knight Nolan… you are a brother to me, you made me hope again, and for that, I couldn't stand loosing you, not this time!"

Time seemed to stand hauntingly still in that moment as I held back tears before Iktomi shocked us back to the present as Hornet finally let go and went over to address the rowdy crowd about my achievement.

"Well my good old chap, I never doubted you for a second, I was so confident in fact that I had the victory celebration feast planned well ahead of time, don't worry, I'll have a special meal prepared for our man of honor."

"That sounds fantastic Iktomi, I'm starving."

With that, Iktomi, Hornet, and I as well as the rest of the crowd made our triumphant return to the distant village to celebrate to the dawning of a new era, it was fun and I was happy to help, but I was still an archeologist at heart, and it's about time I got back to doing actual research first think tomorrow morning, the rest of the world is begging to hear from me and what I seen from this incredible land and its amazing inhabitants.

I certainly won't disappoint them, not after all this.


End file.
